LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 




Shelf. 



•M- 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



REMINISCENCES, 



Sketches and Addresses 



SELECTED FROM MY PAPERS 



During a Ministry of Forty-five Years 



IN MISSISSIPPI, LOUISIANA AND TEXAS. 



y/ n 



Eev. J. E. Hutchison, D.D. 



HOUSTON, TEXAS : 
E. H. CUSHING, PUBLISHER. 

1874. 



THE LIBRARY 
OP CONGRESS 

WASHINGTON 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by 

E. H. CUSHING, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



Large, Little & Co., 

PBIKTEBS, ELECTBOTYPEBS AND STEBEOTYPEBS. 
108 TO 114 WOOSTEK STBEET, N". Y. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Personal Recollections 7 

Presbyterianism in the Southwest: 

Origin of Oakland College — Murder of President Cham- 
berlain » 21 

History of the Church op Bethel and Rodney 29 

Physical Science 35 

Dueling in Vicksburg 51 

The Code of Honor 55 

The Dignity of the Ministerial Office 70 

History of the Presbyterian Church, Houston, Texas . 84 

Rev. J. M. Atkinson 85 

Rev. J. W. Miller 85 

Rev. L. S. Gibson , 85 

Rev. Alex. Fairbairn 86 

Rev. Jerome Twichell 86 

Rev. R. H. Byers 86 

Rev. Thos. Castleton 86 

Rev. J. R. Hutchison, D. D 87 

Rev. Wm. Somerville 87 

Rev. Jno. J. Read 87 

The Sabbath 88 

A Christmas Story 99 

The Hope of the Nation 108 

The Glory of the Church 117 

Universal Benevolence 125 

Moral Insanity 136 

Love of Money 139 

Influence 141 



VI CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Skmi-Centennial of Presbyterianism in New Orleans. 146 

The Services 147 

An Historical Paper on the Origin and Growth of Pres- 
byterianism in the City of New Orleans 147 

Reminiscences 168 

The Origin and Growth of Presbyterianism in the South- 
west 173 

Texas 183 

Indians in Texas 184 

The French in Texas 185 

The First White Man Lost in Texas 187 

The Spaniards in Texas 189 

Americans in Texas 191 

First American Colony in Texas 194 

Galveston Island 196 

The Fall of the Alamo 198 

Capture and Slaughter of Fannin's Men at Goliad 201 

Battle of San Jacinto 205 

Religion in Texas : 208 

Animals of Texas 211 

Early Churches in Texas 212 

Letter from Nashytlle : 

The Texas Dead of Hood's Brigade at the Battle of 
Franklin 216 

The First Protestant Episcopal Sermon Preached 
in New Orleans 219 

Beginnings of Presbyterianism in Mississippi 222 

Rev. James Smylie 226 

Beginnings of Presbyterianism in the Southwest. . 231 

Rev. W. Montgomery 237 

Rev. Zebulon Butler, D. D 241 

Ebenezer and Union Churches, in Mississippi, Rev. 
Jacob Rickhow 245 

Death of the Rev. James Purviance, D. D 248 

Report of the Committee Appointed by the Pres- 
bytery of Mississippi to prepare an Obituary of 
the Rev. B. Chase, D. D 251 







PEESONAL EECOLLECTKOTS. 



Dueing my long residence in the Southwest, I have 
often been surprised at the want of interest manifested 
in the preservation of family reminiscences. Many 
grandchildren know not where their grandparents came 
from. An adventurer from the North strays off to this 
new land of promise, forms new family ties, and finally 
dies and is buried, and carries to. an unmarked grave 
much which his sons should have been proud to remem- 
ber and transmit to their posterity. Even titles to land 
have been forfeited by this neglect of parental or filial 
obligation. I have almost literally helped in decipher- 
ing the dim records of old gravestones to aid Northern 
claimants to establish heirship to Southern dead men's 
property. What an unexpected surprise to a descend- 
ant of Dr. Timothy Dwight, if in some old Georgia 
cabin were yet to turn up a quaint tin box, containing 
the long-lost original title-deeds of his father and Gen- 
eral Lyman to all that rich section of country embrac- 
ing the city of Natchez and the surrounding region ! 
But it is in reference to what is more precious than lost 
land-titles that I would infuse a new spirit into every 
rising Southern village. Pride of ancestry is as valua- 
ble at the South as at the North, and should contribute 
as much in building up a Texan family as a New Eng- 
land town. 

I was born in Columbia County, in the State of Penn- 
sylvania, on the 12th of February, 1807. I am a lineal 
descendant, by my father's side, of those noble patriots 



8 PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

who maintained the celebrated siege of Derry, in the 
north of Ireland, against the combined forces of James 
of England and the king of France. This siege lasted 
from December, 1688, to August, 1689. From this 
dates the "Protestant succession," and William, Prince 
of Orange, ascended the British throne. The sufferings 
of the people, during that memorable occasion, equal 
anything to be found in the records of English history. 
For several generations after coming to this country, 
there was preserved in my family a knife with which 
the original owner, of the name of Hutchison, dug up 
roots beneath the walls of Derry upon which to subsist 
during the horrors of that terrible siege. (Eead Mac- 
aulay's England and Charlotte Elizabeth's Sketches.) 

At what time my family crossed the Atlantic I am 
unable to say. I think it was in 1732. But my grand- 
father, Joseph Hutchison, was a native American, and 
was born in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, near the 
spot where now stands the city of Harrisburg, t^e 
capital of the State. 

In early times the Susquehanna, as well as all other 
.Northern rivers, abounded in shad. It was customary, 
immediately after wheat-harvest, in those days, for 
neighbors to assemble together, and in a short time, by 
dragging the seine, to supply their families with fish suffi- 
cient to last during the ensuing winter. During my 
grandfather's boyhood, in one of those assemblies of the 
farmers for iishing, a violent thunderstorm coming up, 
my great-grandfather took shelter under a tree on a 
small island opposite where the city of Harrisburg now 
stands, and was instantly killed by a stroke of light- 
ning. 

Soon after the birth of my father, my grandfather 
and his brother Samuel removed to that part of North- 
umberland County (Pennsylvania) now called Columbia 



PEESONAL KECOLLECTIONS. \) 

County, where they purchased a large tract of land on 
the Chillisquaque Creek, near the present Tillage of 
Washington ville, and midway between Danville and 
Milton. This purchase included Bosley's Mills, where 
there was a small fort during the Revolutionary War. 
This neighborhood was the scene of many stirring inci- 
dents in the early settlement of the country. I remem- 
ber, when a child, of hearing many romantic and thrill- 
ing incidents of border warfare and Indian barbarities. 
Whole settlements were often broken up, and the in- 
habitants killed or scattered. It was customary for 
families, on a sudden incursion of Indians, to hide their 
most valuable articles of property and flee to some more 
populous and better defended locality. I have, when a 
child, seen various articles, such as pots, gridirons, gar- 
ments, etc., turned up by the plough in my grandfa- 
ther's field, where they were buried in haste by the flee- 
ing inhabitants. The place of my nativity is about 
thirty miles south of the valley of Wyoming, the scene 
of a massacre by Indians and Tories which will be for- 
ever remembered in the annals of the country. 

I will here relate an incident which I heard from my 
mother, and which illustrates the state of the times and 
the character of the people. At the massacre of Wyo- 
ming the whole region was aroused and the people fled 
to the block-houses. My mother, then a small girl, 
and residing with an aunt, had to flee with the rest. 
Hungry and exhausted, and gaining a respite from their 
savage pursuers, she and her young friends supplied 
themselves with a quantity of red apples, taken from a 
crib on the wayside which had been abandoned by its 
owners. When this act of taking the fruit came to the 
knowledge of the parents and guardians of the children, 
it was construed into a species of theft, and though in 
the direction of their Indian pursuers, all were required 



10 PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

to retrace their steps and replace the apples, and thus 
run the risk of meeting the Indians. Such a require- 
ment in a parent or guardian in our day would have 
been viewed by most persons as a cruel exposure of the 
life of a child. But in those days children were ta*ught 
elevated views of morality, and the slightest approach 
to theft or falsehood was most promptly punished. The 
effect upon the mind of my mother of this severe test 
of her courage and obedience was most beneficial, and 
she often alluded to the incident in her family as exert- 
ing a happy influence on her character in all subsequent 
life. 

My father, Andrew Hutchison, the second son of my 
grandfather, was a man of fine personal appearance, of 
medium size, of great muscular activity, and was very 
popular in his neighborhood. Possessing a better edu- 
cation than most other young men of his day, his ser- 
vices were in great demand as a surveyor, a writer of 
deeds, letters, etc. His earlier days were spent in at- 
tending the mills of his father and uncle, and towards 
manhood he was engaged in teaching school. He mar- 
ried young and settled on a small farm adjoining that 
of my grandfather. In 1813 he was chosen colonel of 
a regiment of militia which was ordered to the northern 
frontier to engage in the war with Great Britain. 
Though but six years old at the time, I remember every 
important event that occurred — the frequent mustering 
ef the militia, my father's gay military dress, the patri- 
otic songs, and many other thrilling incidents of a time 
of war. At last, my father's departure for Black Eock, 
my mother's tears, and the adieus of friends are all re- 
membered. Equally well do I remember my father's 
return in a short time — his illness, his death, in dead 
of winter, amid the deep snow, the grave (the first I 
had ever seen), and the painful impression I long enter- 



PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 11 

tained of his confinement in the cold ground. The 
first dead man I ever saw was my father. 

After my father's death my mother continued to re- 
side on the same farm, and support and educate her 
family of five children, the eldest of whom was ten 
years old. She was a woman of remarkable energy of 
character. At this distant day, her many virtues, ren- 
dered prominent by her heroic struggles with compara- 
tive poverty, stand out before my mind in bold relief. 
She was a woman of great decision of character, and in 
great demand as a counselor in the neighborhood. After 
my father's death (who was a professor of religion and 
maintained family worship) my mother continued the 
practice of praying in her family, and maintained it 
while she lived. She labored faithfully, and often with 
tears, to impress upon the minds of her children the 
importance of youthful piety. My earliest and most 
important religious impressions were produced by her 
instructions and prayers. She was firm but tender in 
domestic discipline, often weeping when using the rod, 
mingling tears with correction. Precious is the memo- 
ry of my mother. 

In recalling the scenes and incidents of my childhood, 
I wish here to record my unbounded admiration of the 
character of the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, who were 
the principal settlers of the middle counties of Pennsyl- 
vania, and of many other States of the Union. Much 
has been said, and with justice, of the noble character 
of the Puritans, the Huguenots, and cavaliers. But the 
influence which has been exerted upon the nation by the 
Scotch-Irish element, spread out as it now is throughout 
Pennsylvania, Western Virginia, the Carolinas, New 
York, Eastern Mississippi, and all the Western States, can 
never be fully appreciated. I glory in my descent from 
such a noble stock. My impression also is that much 



12 FEKSONAL EECOLLECTTONS. 

more information was communicated, when I was young, 
by oral instruction, than at the present time. Old 
people rehearsed by the fireside the incidents of their 
early days and what they had heard from their fathers, 
and the young were eager listeners. Though books and 
newspapers and traveling afford greater means of impart- 
ing knowledge now than then, yet I doubt whether 
youth are better taught in useful things, or have the 
more important faculties both of mind and heart better 
developed at the present day than formerly. 
My mother died when I was eight years old. 

" My mother, when I learned that thou wast dead, 
Say, wast thou conscious of the tears I shed 1 
Hover'd thy spirit o'er thy sorrowing son, 
Wretch, even then, life's journey just begun?" 

Immediately after the death of my mother, our fami- 
ly (five in number) were scattered among our relatives. 
I became a member of the family of my uncle, the Eev. 
John Hutchison, of Mimintown, Juniata County (Penn- 
sylvania). He was the only full brother of my father, 
by whom I was adopted and educated. He was a supe- 
rior man in almost every respect. He graduated at 
Dickinson College (Pennsylvania), under the presidency 
of the celebrated Dr. Nesbitt. In 1805~he assumed the 
pastoral charge of the churches of Mimintown and Lost 
Creek, where he continued to labor until his death, 
which took place on the 11th of November, 1844, hav- 
ing retained the charge of the same churches for thirty- 
nine years. Few ministers of the Gospel in Central 
Pennsylvania have lived more honored and died more 
lamented than he. He was a man of great purity and 
simplicity — an entertaining companion, a firm friend, a 
wise counselor, a patient endurer of reproach, and a 
fearless defender of the faith. He seemed to have pos- 



PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 13 

sessed an intuitive knowledge of human nature. The 
motives of men seemed to reveal themselves at once to 
his view. He was the last man on whom any one could 
palm an imposition. He was also famed throughout 
the country for great neatness and system in all the 
ordinary affairs of life. His house, his apparel, his do- 
mestic economy, his traveling equipage, were all expres- 
sive of the order and native sense of propriety which 
characterized him. His attainments as a scholar and 
theologian were of a highly respectable order, and for 
many years he was a prominent member of Hunt- 
ington Presbytery. Like many of the Presbyterian 
clergymen of the Northern States, he devoted much of 
his time and attention to classical studies. His acade- 
my was known for more than thirty years as the best in 
all Central Pennsylvania, and his Latin and Greek 
scholars always took a high position upon entering any 
of the colleges of the State. A large number of the 
professional men in the middle counties of Pennsylva- 
nia were trained under his tuition. At the age of thir- 
teen I commenced the study of the Latin and Greek 
languages. When I arrived at the age of seventeen I 
became his assistant, and thus secured the means of fin- 
ishing my college course. 1 thus had an opportunity 
of attaining a degree of accuracy in classical studies 
which has proved of essential advantage to me in all 
my subsequent life. 

I would here remark that, after having been for a long 
time professor of the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew lan- 
guages, it is my opinion that better classical scholars 
were made fifty years ago than now. Several causes 
may be assigned for the present degeneracy: First. In 
the present day boys are taught too many things in con- 
nection with languages. Second. The many new gram- 
mars and new editions of the classics, with their various 



14 PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

helps, explanations, and English notes, are no real im- 
provement on the old ones. These modern helps to 
study prevent study. Third. Teachers have degener- 
ated. Now, our teachers are young men, nice young 
men, possessed of great self-esteem, intending to study 
law or medicine, and making teaching only a stepping- 
stone to something else. In my early day, teachers 
were usually Presbyterian ministers, or candidates for 
the ministry, who loved to teach, who knew how to 
teach, and who had a reputation to sustain. Fourth, 
Boys in the present day are more difficult to be taught 
than formerly. They are not taught as much at home 
as in former years. Especially, their memories are not 
drilled, as they once were, by committing to memory 
the G-eneral Assembly's shorter catechism. Conse- 
quently, they are not so capable of committing with 
accuracy the Latin and Greek grammars. I have always 
noticed that the sons of old-fashioned Presbyterians 
usually make the best classical scholars. Their superior 
religious training renders them more susceptible of a 
thorough classical training. From these and other con- 
siderations, I am more and more convinced that if we 
would have better scholarship in our colleges, we must 
have our youth prepared, not in preparatory schools, 
but by the pastors of our churches, or in parochial 
schools under their care. 

I resided in Mifflintown from 1815 to 1824. Those 
years constitute the most important period of my life. 
I can now trace back almost all my habits and my pecu- 
liarities of character to that period. My residence in 
my uncle's family imposed upon me the duty of work 
as well as of study. Gardening, the providing of fire- 
wood in winter, the care of horses, cows, etc., were, for- 
tunately for me, combined with intellectual culture, 
thus giving the best means of developing the powers 



PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 15 

both of mind and body. Having also access to all 
kinds of books, I then formed habits of general read- 
ing, and by some assistance and close application I 
qualified myself for entering the Junior Class in Jeffer- 
son College. How often do I now revert in thought to 
those pleasant by-gone days. Within a few months 
past, I was once more permitted to revisit those scenes 
of my youth, after an absence of twenty years. But 
alas, how changed! Nature was there. There were 
the bold Alleghany Mountains, the green hills, the 
beautiful stream of the Juniata. But almost all the 
companions of my youth and my kindred were no more. 
Strange faces looked upon me, and I found myself more 
at home among the tombs of the dead than in the dwell- 
ings of the living. 

In the Spring of 1825, 1 left Mifflin town for Jefferson 
College, Cannonsburg (Pennsylvania). Stopping at 
Pittsburg for a few days, I had the opportunity of see- 
ing the distinguished General La Fayette, the compan- 
ion of Washington, the early and devoted friend of the 
- struggling American colonies, who was then revisiting 
the scenes of his early battles in the cause of liberty, 
and whose progress through the country resembled a 
continued Roman triumph. 

I entered the Junior Class in Jefferson College half 
advanced. The class consisted of thirty members. Jef- 
ferson College, at the time I entered it, was in its zen- 
ith. It was the most prominent institution west of 
the Alleghany Mountains, and under the long presi- 
dency of Dr. Matthew Brown, it furnished the ministry 
which gave character to the Presbyterian Church in all 
that vast region of country. Rev. Aaron Williams and 
Rev. Dr. A. T. McG-ill, now professor at Princeton (New 
Jersey) were my associates in study. I entered the 
Theological Seminary at Princeton in the Fall of 1826. 



16 PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

My health failing in two years, I became an inmate for 
a few months in the family of the Kev. Dr. E. S. Ely, 
pastor of the Pine Street Church, Philadelphia. Dr. 
Ely was at that time at the height of his fame as a pop- 
ular preacher, a leader in ecclesiastical courts, a man of 
wealth, a skillful financier, a patron of all public insti- 
tutions, and the liberal friend and helper of all young 
men seeking the ministry of the G-ospel. Though a 
man of eccentricity, " full of fat, fun, and fortune," yet 
he exerted for many years a controlling influence in all 
matters connected with the Presbyterian Church in the 
Middle States. About the year 1831, he became a 
prominent leader in an effort to found a great Western 
city on the Mississippi Eiver. Many persons, by his in- 
fluence and wealth, were induced to unite with him in 
this plausible scheme. Many widows, and others hav- 
ing the control of small means throughout the country, 
cast in their lot with him and invested their all — and 
Marion City, near Hannibal, for a short time bid fair to 
rise to some eminence. But the pecuniary revulsion 
which spread over the whole country in 1837-8, fell upon 
all such enterprises with a stunning blow. The greater 
portion of the people assembled at Marion City were 
dispersed, their means were squandered, their health and 
spirits broken, their chief leaders abandoned the project, 
and Dr. Ely, broken in fortune and spirits, returned to 
Philadelphia. Though Dr. Ely's course in the incidents 
just narrated, and also in the part he took in the divis- 
ion of the Presbyterian Church into Old and New School, 
is certainly to be condemned, yet he deserved great 
honor while he lived, and his memory should be still 
cherished since his death, for the great good he accom- 
plished in the earlier period of his life. Multitudes of 
young men were aided by him in their efforts to enter 
the ministry. His residence in Philadelphia was the 



PEKSONAL EECOLLECTIONS. 17 

abode of elegant hospitality. The Jefferson Medical 
College was founded mainly by his efforts. Many 
widows and orphans were clothed and fed by his money ; 
and for many years he expended the whole of his salary 
from his congregation in acts of benevolence. I must 
place on record this tribute to the name of Dr. Ezra 
Stiles Ely. 

On the 22d of April, 1829, and when in my twenty- 
second year, I was licensed to preach the Gospel by the 
Presbytery of Philadelphia, at Frankfort, a village some 
miles from the city. Two other young men were li- 
censed at the same time : Eev. Nicholas Murray, now 
deceased, for many years pastor of the Eirst Presbyteri- 
an Church at Elizabethtown (New Jersey), a man emi- 
nent for his learning, and particularly a popular writer 
against Catholicism, over the name of " Kirwan." The 
other was the Eev. Alexander Aikman, of Bordentown 
(New Jersey), a young man of varied attainments in 
learning and theology, who was sent to New Orleans in 
1832 to take charge of the First Presbyterian Church 
in that city, rendered vacant by the deposition from the 
ministry of Rev. Theodore Clapp by the Presbytery of 
Mississippi. Mr. Aikman commenced his labors under 
most encouraging auspices, and did much to divest 
Presbyterianism of the odium under which it had been 
suffering for many years from the misrepresentations of 
Mr. Clapp. But in a short time his health failed, and, 
leaving New Orleans, he came to Natchez, where, after ' 
lingering for some weeks, he died. His sun went down 
at noon. 

My first appearance in the pulpit was at Norristown, 
in Montgomery County, about twenty miles from Phila- 
delphia. In the month of October, 1829, I started for 
Mississippi, landed at Eodney, walked out to the resi- 
dence of Dr. Rush Nutt (two miles from the river) ; 



18 PEESONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

remained in that vicinity, preaching at Eodney and 
Bethel, until July following, when I removed to Baton 
Kouge (Louisiana) ; succeeded Rev. John Dorrance as 
pastor of the church ; married on the 20th of September, 
1832 ; in January, 1834, became connected with the Col- 
lege of Louisiana at Jackson; went as a delegate to the 
General Assembly at Pittsburg in May, 1836 ; visited 
New England during the summer of that year; returned 
to Louisiana in the fall ; accepted a call to the church of 
Vicksburg, with a salary of $3,000, where I remained 
pastor for six years; then accepted a professorship in 
Oakland College, which I held for twelve years ; then 
resigned in 1854, and removed to Covington (Louisiana), 
where I had charge of a private seminary of learning 
for three years, preaching also during the same time at 
Covington and Madisonville ; then removed to New 
Orleans, and purchased the property called the Brick 
House Station, on the Carrollton Railroad, where I 
established a male high school, and, at the same time, 
preaching at Carrollton Church and the Prytania Street ' 
Church in the city. In the fall of 1860 I removed to 
Houston, in Texas, and took charge of the Public 
Academy; was removed from the institution by the 
military authorities of the Confederate States, which 
converted the establishment into a hospital ; then 
opened a private male and female academy at Turner's 
Hall, where I also preached to the Presbyterian Church 
until their edifice, which was burned down, was rebuilt. 
At the close of my superintendence of the Public Acad- 
emy of Houston I had one hundred and fifty male and 
female pupils. 

At the close of the war, in 1865, 1 became deeply con- 
cerned as to my duty in reference to the spiritual deso- 
lations of the villages and churches within the bounds 
of the Brazos Presbytery, and accessible by railroads 



PEESONAL EECOULECTIONS. 19 

from the city of Houston. My convictions of duty in 
this matter led me to open a correspondence with my 
ministerial brethren in the region referred to, asking 
their advice and co-operation, and inquiring whether 
my entrance into the field would meet their approval, 
and in no way interfere with their respective fields of 
labor. From all with whom I corresponded I received 
cordial encouragement. And then the question pre- 
sented itself to my mind, " How shall I obtain a pecu- 
niary support ? " for, up to the close of the war, no reor- 
ganization of the Presbyterian Church had been effected 
within the bounds of the Confederate States. The Cor- 
responding Secretary of the Board of Domestic Missions 
at Philadelphia, intimated, through a third party, that, 
on evidence of "loyalty," a sufficient salary would be 
secured to me, if I would enter upon the same field. 
Such a proposition I could not entertain. In the fall 
of 1866, in a conference with some prominent members 
of the Church, I was urged to carry out my original 
* purpose; and the late Thomas M. Bagby,of Houston, 
and Mr. James Sorley, of Galveston, placed in my hands 
$50 each, as a salary for the month of January, in 1867, 
to justify me to leave my home and commence my work. 
It was agreed and understood that I should explore the 
whole field, ascertain the Presbyterian element in each 
destitute community, preach the Gospel, organize 
churches, and prepare the way for the settlement of 
pastors and stated supplies. On the 1st of January, 
1867, I commenced my labors, visiting as soon as pos- 
sible the towns of Hempstead, Chappell Hill, Navesota, 
Richmond, Harrisburg, Columbus, Alleytown and Beau- 
mont. "Within six months from the commencement of 
the year, I had reorganized the churches of Hempstead 
and Chappell Hill, and organized new churches at 
Navesota and Bryan City. During the first year of my 



20 PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

mission, I received no formal recognition from the 
Presbytery, and no pecuniary aid, excepting from the 
two brethren above named, and from the voluntary 
contributions of the people to whom I ministered. And 
during no single month, from the commencement of 
my services until now (1874), has my entire income 
ever exceeded one hundred dollars. At all the points 
where I have labored, I have always been emphatic, 
both in my private and public announcements, that so 
soon as any congregation may think itself able to call-a 
pastor or stated supply of its own, I should at once 
retire from the field. The people ^f Navesota and 
Bryan City can testify to the truth of my present 
assertion. 

In recapitulating my ministerial life of forty-five 
years, I wish here devoutly to record the goodness of a 
special Providence in prolonging my days to the com- 
mencement of my sixty-seventh year, preserving me 
amid sickness, amid epidemics, amid war, blessing me 
with a faithful and loving wife, and ten grown and * 
affectionate children. Though I have had the yellow 
fever more than once, yet I have never been seriously 
interrupted in my profession by any dangerous or pro- 
tracted sickness. I have never lost the confidence and 
esteem of any community in which I have lived. I 
served the church of Baton Eouge for three years ; the 
College of Louisiana, three years ; the Yicksbnrg Church, - 
six years; Oakland College, twelve years; Covington, 
three years; New Orleans, three years; and Houston, 
fifteen years. I have married three hundred couples, 
and received in marriage fees four thousand three hun- 
dred dollars. 



PRESBYTERLANISM IN THE SOUTHWEST. 

OEIGIH OF OAKLAND COLLEGE— MUEDEE OF PEESIDE^T 
CHAMBEELAIN". 

Oaklakd College is located in Claiborne County 
(Mississippi), thirty-five miles north of the city of 
Natchez, and five' miles east of the Mississippi River. 
Rodney is the nearest landing. Bruinsburg, three miles 
north, is the spot where General Grant crossed the 
river and gained possession of the rear of the city of 
Vicksburg, and soon that city fell. Oakland is situated 
in a region of country rendered interesting from many 
reminiscences of early times. Here was the scene of 
some characteristic incidents in the life of General 
Andrew Jackson. A few miles from the college was 
the residence of Blennerhassett. Here was the place of 
the capture of Aaron Burr. In this vicinity was the 
plantation of the amiable, patriotic, and lamented Gen- 
eral Zachary Taylor. This region also derives much 
interest from the visits and labors of some of the earliest 
pioneers of Presbyterianism in the Southwest. Rickhow, 
and Smylie, and Montgomery — the last lately gone to 
his reward after a long life of labor in the Master's 
vineyard, the two former still living at an advanced 
age — here came, when the dew of their youth was upon 
them, and laid the foundation of our churches. Here 
visited and preached Schermerhorn, and S. J. Mills, and 
Larned, and Bullen, and many others whose praise is 
in our Southern Zion. The eccentric Lorenzo Dow 
here rode his mule and blew his horn, and attracted 



22 PRESBYTEKIANISM IK THE SOUTHWEST. 

crowds of the first settlers, preaching on housetops and 
haystacks, resembling Peter the Hermit, who once mar- 
shalled all Europe under the Crusader's banner. 

The origin of Oakland College may be traced to a 
meeting of Presbyterian ministers, held in the town of 
Baton, Rouge, Louisiana, in April, 1829. Some circum- 
stances had occurred previous to this meeting which 
had particularly attracted the attention of Presbyterians 
to the subject of Southern education. There was not, 
at that time, a single college, prepared to give a regular 
collegiate education, within the States of Louisiana, 
Mississippi, and the territory of Arkansas — containing 
a population at that time of more than three hundred 
thousand souls, and a tract of country of more than one 
hundred and forty-five thousand square miles, embrac- 
ing the growing city of New Orleans and other cities — 
with a soil capable of sustaining a vast population. 
Efforts had been made by the Legislature of Louisiana, 
with princely liberality, to establish several institutions 
of learning, all of which had virtually failed. In the 
State of Mississippi exertions had been made for nearly 
thirty years, and large donations from the general gov- 
ernment, and from corporations and individuals, had 
been expended ; and yet not one individual was known 
to have been graduated. The religious community had 
done nothing. 

After viewing these facts, and having a full inter- 
change of sentiments, the clergymen above referred to 
concluded that they would fail in their duty, and forfeit 
the character of their Church, as the great champion of 
learning, if they did not make an effort to meet the 
claims of the country, and provide means for a thorough 
Southern education. A committee was accordingly 
appointed who, after an extensive correspondence, con- 
tinued through several months, called a meeting of the 



PEESBYTEEIANISM IN THE SOUTHWEST. 23 

friends of education at Bethel Church, two miles from 
the present location of the college, on the 14th of Janu- 
ary, 1830. This meeting was composed of gentlemen 
from the parishes of East Baton Eouge, East Feliciana, 
and West Feliciana, Louisiana; and from the counties 
of Claiborne, Amite, Wilkinson, Adams, Jefferson, War- 
ren, Hinds, and Madison, in Mississippi, and continued 
six days. The following resolution was presented : 

Resolved, That it is expedient to establish and endow an insti- 
tution of learning within our bounds, which, when complete, 
shall embrace the usual branches of science and literature taught 
in the colleges of our country, together with a preparatory Eng- 
lish and Grammar School, and Theological Professorship, or 
Seminary. 

This resolution was sustained by gentlemen from 
every part of the country represented in the meeting ; 
and after considering it for three days, it was unani- 
mously adopted. A subscription was immediately 
opened to supply the requisite funds. Twelve thousand 
dollars were contributed for the purchase of a site and 
the erection of necessary buildings. Committees were 
appointed to prepare a constitution, to view the various 
locations which had been spoken of, and to make all 
necessary arrangements for opening the school. 

The Presbytery of Mississippi, embracing, at that 
time, all the Presbyterian ministers in Louisiana, Mis- 
sissippi, and Arkansas, received the proposed seminary 
under its care, adopted a constitution, appointed a Board 
of Trustees and the President of the college, and fixed 
the location within three miles of Bethel Church, in 
Claiborne County, Mississippi. On the 14th of May 
the school opened with three pupils, who had accom- 
panied the President, the Rev. Jeremiah Chamberlain, 
D.D., from Jackson, Louisiana, where he had been pre- 
siding for some time over the " College of Louisiana." 



2-1 PRESBYTEItlANISM IN THE SOUTHWEST. 

On the 2d of July, 1830, the first clearing was begun on 
the magnificent Oak Eidge, now occupied by the college 
buildings. At the end of the session, March 28th, the 
school consisted of sixty-five pupils. The two more ad- 
vanced formed a sophomore class, and there were five in 
the freshman class ; the remainder were in the English 
and classical schools. The President instructed the 
two college classes and the classical school in the lan- 
guages; and his brother, Mr. John Chamberlain, after- 
wards professor of chemistry and natural philosophy, 
instructed the classes in mathematics and in the Eng- 
lish school. In the winter of 1831, a charter was received 
from the legislature of the State. In 1833, the first 
commencement was held; and Mr. James M. Smylie, 
recent Vice-Chancellor of the State of Mississippi, was 
the first graduate of Oakland College. His classmate, 
William Montgomery, son of Eev. "William Montgomery, 
one of our oldest ministers, who expected to receive his 
degree at the same time, was removed by death about 
three weeks before the commencement. This is believed 
to be the first commencement south of Tennessee, and 
Judge Smylie is the first native Mississippian who re- 
ceived the degree of A. B. in his own State. 

Such was the origin of Oakland College, an institu- 
tion which has aided in the education of nearly one 
thousand native youth, and which now has on the roll 
of its graduates one hundred and twenty alumni, who 
are scattered throughout the Southwest, and occupied 
in the cultivation of the soil or in the learned profes- 
sions. And the writer believes that there is not on the 
list of the graduates of Oakland College a single name 
upon which rests a blemish of dishonor or immorality. 
And the large number of those educated young men 
who assemble annually in the groves and halls of their 
alma mater, is a pleasing token of their interest and 



PKESBYTERIANISM IN THE SOUTHWEST. 25 

affection, and a guarantee of what the institution may- 
hereafter expect from the influence and character of her 
own sons. 

The necessary buildings and accommodations for 
students and teachers haye been provided as the wants 
of the institution haye required. There are, at this 
time, about thirty cottages for the occupancy of the 
pupils ; residences for the President and professors ; two 
handsome halls for the literary societies, with libraries 
attached; a college library of upwards of four thousand 
volumes; a philosophical, chemical, and astronomical 
apparatus, which cost nearly $4,000 ; a main college of 
brick, one hundred and twelve by sixty, containing a 
college chapel, prayer hall, lecture rooms, and other 
requisite accommodations. The institution has never 
received any aid from the State or general government. 
Its funds have been provided entirely from private 
liberality. And these funds would now be sufficient to 
sustain the college, were it not for some unfortunate 
investments a few years since in the banks of the State. 

We shall conclude this brief history of Oakland Col- 
lege, by stating a recent occurrence, which, at the time, 
cast a deep gloom over the institution, and filled the 
whole land with astonishment and grief. The President 
and professors had been performing their quiet and 
laborious duties, unconscious of being the objects of 
any great amount of popular dislike or favor, when, 
during the pendency of the election in the State of Mis- 
sissippi, in the summer of 1851, for members to the 
State Convention, the faculty were accused by indi- 
viduals, and by some of the State Eights papers, of 
giving in their teachings undue favor to the sentiments 
of the Union Party. These clamors gained ground, 
until, during the election in September, handbills were 
circulated directly charging the faculty with highly 
2 



26 PKESBYTERIANISM IN THE SOUTHWEST. 

improper conduct in this respect. These charges were 
mildly but firmly repelled in a card signed by the Presi- 
dent of the college. The leaders of the two parties were 
General H. S. Foot and Jefferson Davis. A citizen of the 
neighborhood, who had no connection with the college, 
either as a student or in any other respect, but who 
deemed himself either personally or politically implicated 
in the denial of the President, stopped at Dr. Chamber- 
lain's house, on the evening of the 5th of September (at a 
time when the professors and students were absent enjoy- 
ing the vacation), and called the doctor to his gate. Ee- 
taining his seat in his vehicle, he commenced denounc- 
ing the doctor in very abusive terms, and made some 
charge against him, the nature of which was not dis- 
tinctly heard. Dr. Chamberlain, quietly leaning upon the 
top rail of his gate on the inside, denied the charge, and 
said that it could not be proved. Instantly the assail- 
ant sprang from his carriage, and knocked the doctor 
down with the butt-end of a loaded whip. As the 
doctor rose, or attempted to rise, he was knocked down 
again ; and as he attempted to rise the second time, he 
was stabbed to the heart with a bowie-knife. All this 
took place in the presence of the female members of the 
family, whose screams were heard at a distance, and 
brought the doctor's son-in-law to the spot. He found 
the doctor standing up, but bleeding, and the murderer, 
outside of the gate, wiping his bloody knife upon his 
handkerchief. The doctor had strength to walk to the 
house, but, on reaching the middle of the open passage, 
lie exclaimed, " I am killed ; " and, sinking on the floor, 
he immediately expired. 

Thus fell a great and good man. Conciliatory in all 
his intercourse, bland and courteous in his manners, 
even when smarting under unmerited obloquy, but 
brave and firm as a martyr for principle, and ready to 



PRESBYTERIANISM IN THE SOUTHWEST. 27 

stand in his lot for the cause of truth and right, at all 
times and against *any odds, he at last fell to appease 
the bitterness of partisan malice and personal hate. 
For more than a quarter of a century he devoted him- 
self, with a zeal, a self-abnegation, aid a success un- 
paralleled, to the cause of Southern education. Mainly 
by his efforts and sacrifices, a college has been founded 
in Mississippi which has educated and graduated more 
young men than all other colleges south of Tennessee. 
And after all the labors, the trials, and the temptations 
of his long career, he has left the memory of no one 
act which his bitterest enemy will now venture to 
censure. 

We would here simply remark that a coroner's jury, 
consisting of fourteen citizens, pronounced the act by 
which Dr. Chamberlain came to his death, murder. 
The perpetrator of the crime, on the second day after 
the deed, committed suicide, and passed beyond the 
reach of all human tribunals. 

Although President Chamberlain thus fell, so cruelly, 
so suddenly, yet Oakland College did not fall with him. 
It still lives, and shall live, a monument of his fame, 
and a blessing to the present and future generations. 
And as it is the ordainment of heaven that martyr 
blood becomes precious seed, whence springs undying 
truth, we doubt not that the great principle, in this 
instance as in others, will be fully developed. No 
sooner was Oakland's chief founder and first President 
cut down, than the true and firm friends of the insti- 
tution began to rally. Precisely one year has elapsed 
since the sad event occurred ; and in that year much 
has been done to place the college upon a firm and per- 
manent basis. Upwards of $60,000 have been con- 
tributed to pay its debts, and meet its more immediate 
wants. The name of its first President is to be per- 



28 PRESBYTERIANISM IN THE SOUTHWEST. 

petuated, by the investment of a permanent fund, to be 
called tlie K Chamberlain Fund," the interest of which 
is to pay the salary of his successor. Overtures have 
been made from a distant source to found a professor- 
ship of Natural Science ; and from various other sources 
are cheering indications that this infant seat of learning, 
which has struggled so long and done so much, will yet 
become the glory of the South, and a rich blessing to 
the future generations. 

The present faculty are: Eev. E. L. Stanton, D.D., 
President, and Professor of Moral Sciences; Eev. J. E. 
Hutchison, D.D., Professor of Latin, Greek, and He- 
brew Languages; T. Newton Wilson, A.M., Professor 
of Mathematics ; W. Le Eoy Brown, A.M., Professor of 
Chemistry and Natural Philosophy ; H. B. TJnderhill, 
A.M., Principal of the Preparatory Department; James 
Collier, Esq., Steward. 

September 6, 1852. 



HISTORY 

OP THE 

CHUKCH OF BETHEL AND RODNEY, 

(NEAR OAKLAND COLLEGE, MISS.). 



Ik the year 1828 the Legislature of Mississippi 
granted a charter to that portion of Bethel Congrega- 
tion now worshiping in Rodney, under the name of 
the "Presbyterian Congregation of Petit Gulf," and 
designated David Hunt, John H. Savage, John Watt, 
and James Couden as trustees, with the power of ap- 
pointing their successors. At the same time and in the 
same act, the Legislature granted a charter to that por- 
tion of the congregation worshiping at Bethel, two 
miles from the college, under the style and name of the 
"Presbyterian Congregation of Bethel," and named 
William Young, Lewellin Price, John Magruder, and 
Smith C. Daniel trustees of the same, with similar pow- 
er of electing their successors. The first building for 
public worship erected by this double congregation was 
located in the rear of the plantations of the late Smith 
Hubbard and James M. Batchelor, about three miles 
east of the town of Rodney. The prominent actors in 
this new enterprise were Daniel Hunt, John Bolls, Smith 
Hubbard, Dr. Rush Nutt, John Murdock, Sen., M. Mc- 
Clutchy, and also Matthew Bolls. The last named was 
the son of John Bolls, who was a man distinguished in 
the early annals of the church in this region, and whose 
name appears on several church books — a man who, 
though little in stature, was mighty in faith, swift of 



30 HISTORY OP 

foot, great at a bear-hunt or in taming wild steers, the 
first to hear of a new preacher coming to the settlement 
and ride thirty miles to see him ; mighty in cutting* 
down trees to build meeting-houses, and who had the 
honor of being imprisoned in the calaboose in Natchez 
for being a heretic, having been betrayed to the priest 
by a stranger whom he had sheltered and nursed in 
sickness. His son Matthew was as large again as his 
father, tall and gaunt, a wit and a poet, whose quaint 
sayings, famous "book of chronicles," and imitations of 
Burns' poems convulsed many a circle with laughter. 
Forty years ago, he had much to, say about early times 
— how he soon outgrew his father, but still dared not 
disobey him — how he never regularly wore shoes and 
stockings until after he was married — how, for the want 
of saddles and bridles, he and his companions would 
seize wild horses, noose them with grape-vines, and ride 
furiously to merry-makings. He knew something by 
experience of the toilsome mode of removing cotton 
from the cotton-seed, before the introduction of the cofc- 
ton-gin. Then every little boy and girl, white and 
black, had to bend themselves to the task, just as in 
picking wool ; and when a sufficient amount was pre- 
pared, a large barrel, like an empty tobacco hogshead, 
was filled, shafts were attached to each end, and it was" 
trundled across hills and cane-brakes to Selsertown, to 
be pressed into bags. Cotton was precious in those 
days, bringing forty cents per pound. Matthew Boll's 
account of the first meeting to build the church build- 
ing, of which we are speaking, was characteristic of the 
men and the times. One thought that it would come 
to nothing. Another, that it would break up the races 
down at Greenville and spoil their Sunday sports. 
Another, that it might help to keep the women and 
children in order. But all concluded to try it, and each 



THE CHURCH OF BETHEL AND RODNEY. 31 

put down a dollar to begin with. Noble effort ! In that 
little gathering were men who learned from that time to 
give their thousands to the cause of Christ and educa- 
tion. In a short time, " the little church down Hub- 
bard's lane— the little church round the corner" — be- 
came inconvenient ; and about 1824 efforts were made 
to build two houses, one at Bethel cross-roads, two miles 
from Oakland ^College, and another at Eodney. 

The first stated minister of the church was Kev. Sam- 
uel Hunter, a native of Ireland, who preached at differ- 
ent points in the vicinity; and about 1826 organized 
" Bethel Church," an offshoot of the Old Bethel, near 
Fayette, made up of members principally from the old 
"Bayou Pierre Church," which worshiped formerly in 
a log building on the road now leading from Mrs. 
Crane's residence to Port Gibson, and near the residence 
of Mr. Venable. The place where the house stood can 
only now be identified by a few old trees and sunken 
graves. I know the spot. As early as 1824, the old 
Presbytery of Mississippi met in session there. There 
were Rickhow, and Montgomery, and Patterson, and 
Chase, and others. A young man from New. England 
offered himself as a candidate for the ministry, was li- 
censed (the first licensure ever witnessed by the people), 
and after laboring a short time at St. Francisville and 
Baton Rouge, returned to his home, and within two 
years past has ceased from his labors. He was the Rev. 
Thomas Savage, late of Londonderry Presbytery. A 
later incident connected with this lonely spot is familiar 
from personal presence. Nearly twenty years ago, two 
horsemen, on a sultry day, turned aside at these old 
graves to repose beneath the shade, and have time to get 
to Oakland at sundown. Plucking some wild grapes 
from overhead, they stretched themselves an the grass 
to rest and talk. Being both given to being merry and 



32 HISTORY OF 

sad as occasion offered, the time and the place gave food 
to both extremes of temperament. They talked about 
the past, the present, and the future. They then arose 
and departed. One remains until this day to record the 
past. The other (three days after) fell by the hand of 
an assassin ! (See History of Oakland College.) 

The original members composing the " Bayou Pierre 
Church," and then incorporated into Bethel Church, 
were John Bolls, elder (noble old man, with a little 
body but a big soul, and who loaned himself about 
amoug the churches as an elder until other elders arose), 
Mrs. Catherine Crane, Lewellin Price (grandfather of 
Rev. Robert Price), William Young, Clara Young, Dr. 
Rush Nutt, Mrs. Nutt, Mrs. Elisa Kerr, David Hunt, 
Mrs. Ann F. Hunt, and others. Early in the spring of 
1828, Mr. Hunter retired from the care of Bethel and 
Rodney churches, and the Rev. Zebulon Butler took 
charge of the congregation in conjunction with the 
church of Port Gibson, for one year. In November, 
the Rev. J. R. Hutchison came from Princeton Theo- 
logical Seminary, and preached at Rodney as stated sup- 
ply until the following July, when he removed to Baton 
Rouge and succeeded Rev. John Dorrance, who returned 
to Pennsylvania. While J. R. Hutchison preached at 
Rodney, there were but two members of the Presbyterian 
Church residing in the place, although the village con- 
tained a larger population than at present. Yet almost 
all the heads of families in the town formed themselves 
into a Bible Class and were instructed weekly in the 
Holy Scriptures. The first place used for public worship 
was the bar-room of a house of entertainment. On 
Sabbath morning the landlord would ring the dinner- 
bell, wipe the stains of decanters and bottles from the 
table, bring out an old Bible, and the people would come 
in. Some objected to the preacher because he was too 



THE CHUECH OF BETHEL AND RODNEY. 33 

young; but Matthew Bolls, the great oracle, thought 
that "if they would give the young man a little time, 
he would get over that defect." The young man has 
long since got over that fault. The writer has now lost 
his raven locks, has put on gray hairs, and is old enough. 

Early in 1829 steps were taken to erect the present 
brick church at Eodney. It was dedicated to the wor- 
ship of God on the first day of January, 1832, by the 
preaching of a sermon by Eev. Dr. Chamberlain from 
Exodus xx. 24 : a In all places where I record my name, 
I will come unto thee and I will bless thee." After the 
house was finished, it appeared that the builder still held 
a claim against it of $1,500 — which debt was -quietly 
paid by Mr. David Hunt, a princely man, and the build- 
ing released from all embarrassments. 

Early in the spring of 1830 a new element of life 
and vigor was introduced into this church, by the loca- 
tion of Oakland College within its bounds, towards 
which the members of the congregation subscribed 
$12,000. Afterwards the same individuals multiplied 
their donations to the amount of tens of thousands. 
The reason why the college was located in so retired a 
spot, was this : at that time no town or city in the South- 
west was deemed sufficiently healthy or sufficiently moral 
to be the seat of a college. In addition to his position as 
president, Dr. Chamberlain preached at Eodney and 
Bethel alternately for seven years. During that time, 
in addition to the support of their preacher, the people 
contributed to the different boards of the church about 
$1,000 annually. On the 11th of November, 1837, the 
Eev. J. T. Eussell Was installed pastor, and resigned in 
1842. For the twelve next succeeding years, Eev. J. E. 
Hutchison, having removed from Vicksburg, acted in 
the capacity of both professor of ancient languages and 
pastor of the church. During those years the congre- 



34 HISTOEY OF THE CHUKCH OF BETHEL AND KODNEY. 

gation in its spiritual aspects assumed many interesting 
features. In 1837, about twenty were added to the 
church, principally young men connected with the col- 
lege. In 1845, about fifty persons were added to the 
communion. During the long term of thirty years, the 
congregation contributed largely to the boards of the 
church — to the Tract cause, the Bible Society, Sunday- 
school Union. The American Colonization Society al- 
ways was a favorite, and sometimes received from indi- 
viduals contributions amounting to thousands of dol- 
lars. For many years, a few noble planters supported a 
minister to labor exclusively among their slaves. At 
one time, forty negroes, valued at $330,000, were liberated 
and sent to Liberia. An individual (Thomas Freeland) 
contributed, from 1833 to 1843, $333 annually, to sup- 
port a missionary in China. The students in the college 
gave about $300 for the boards of the church. Besides, 
the Theological Seminary at Maryville (Tennessee), the 
Natchez Orphan Asylum, etc., received large contribu- 
tions. O ! those were palmy days, gone, never to return. 

Houston, Texas, August 28, 1871. 



PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 

An Address delivered at Oakland College, on the occasion of the Inauguration 
of Dr. J. H. Savage, as Professor of Chemistry, August, 1843. 



Gentlemen of the Board of Trustees and Faculty : 

All attentive students of history have remarked that 
great men and great events have generally appeared in 
clusters. When one individual of vast enterprise or 
learning has attracted the gaze and admiration of the 
world, others, remarkable for similar qualities, have 
arisen almost simultaneously with him. When great 
inventions and discoveries have dawned upon the earth, 
others of a kindred character have sprung up around 
them. 
What is the philosophy of this historic truth ? 
How do we account for it ? By the following simple 
process : — That waking up and inquisitiveness of the 
human intellect, which results in the discovery of some 
new principle, or the development of some new and 
startling invention, impel it forward in a new career, 
— a career of universal investigation; and speedily 
other discoveries and inventions open before it, and re- 
ward its newly-awakened energies. In addition to 
this, all truth is intimately affiliated and interwoven, 
and any change in one of her departments, speedily 
extends its influence to every other, and, ere long, all 
things become new. But the chief cause why great 
events and discoveries have so often appeared simulta- 
neously has been, that without such simultaneous ap- 
pearance they would have been of no great benefit to 



36 PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 

the world. Providence seems sometimes designedly to 
have held bach the mind of man from the perception of 
certain great, principles because the world ivas not ready 
for them ; their time had not yet come. What worthy 
advantage could have resulted from the discovery of the - 
art of printing, had not mankind about the same time 
begun to call in question the old and time-hallowed 
dogma that none but kings and priests should possess 
power and learning — that it was a sin against God for 
the common people to investigate political and theolog- 
ical opinions. Hence, the discoveries of Johannes 
Faust and Martin Luther appeared in close proximity 
— the one standing ready to aid the other — the power 
of the Press to advance and perpetuate the power of 
the unshackled mind. 

This simultaneous appearance of great events and 
their adaptation the one to the other, was most strik- 
ingly displayed in the discovery of America, and those 
other astonishing discoveries and inventions which 
appeared at the same time. 

About the middle of the fifteenth century, that deep 
night of intellectual and moral darkness which had 
brooded over the earth for a thousand years began to 
break away, and the day began to dawn. Suddenly, 
as by a common impulse, Europe became the theater of 
great and marvelous events : — the invention of the 
mariner's compass — the use of gunpowder — the art of 
printing — the commencement of the glorious reforma- 
tion, — and the discovery of a new continent beyond the 
vast Atlantic! These and a thousand other magnificent 
discoveries thronged upon each other with pressing 
haste; when with a steady and triumphant step the 
peerless form of human intellect arose erect, and throw- 
ing off from her freshening limbs the death-shade and 
the grave clothes which had so long enshrouded her, 



PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 37 

ascended to the glorious resurrection of that noontide 
luster which irradiates the horizon of our own day, 
" rejoicing like a strong man to run a race." 

Now some of these events paved the way for others 
— some were rendered useful solely from the previous 
existence of others, and all exerted upon each a re- 
ciprocal effect. 

Among the fruits of this new order of things — of 
these new developments of mind — of this fresh impulse 
to the spirit of universal investigation, of which that 
cluster of great events was partly the cause and partly 
the effect, we should always give a prominent place 
to that department of knowledge called "Physical 
Science." For although the middle of the fifteenth 
century is generally marked as the great era of the 
revival of religion and of letters, it is no less deserving 
of being distinguished as the time in which men began 
to study, appreciate, and comprehend the laws and 
phenomena of the material world; and it is a remark- 
able historical fact, that at the very time Martin 
Luther effected the revolution of the theological 
system, at Wittenberg, in a city sixty miles to the 
north, Nicholas Copernicus was revolutionizing the 
long-received system of astronomy. While the one 
taught that the " Seven-hilled City " was not the center 
of the Church, the other demonstrated that this world 
was not the center of the universe: glorious coinci- 
dence of great events — the type and the prophecy of 
the approaching emancipation of Matter and of Mind ! 

My theme is the present position and aspect of the 
Physical Sciences. 

1. The Physical Sciences, previous to the fifteenth 
century, were the main agents and hand-maids of 
superstition. 

Instead of contributing to the happiness of the race, 



d» PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 

as they were then understood and wielded, they were 
the chief source of human disquietude and suffering. 

The mass of men, ignorant of the laws which govern 
the material world, and hence wholly incompetent to 
unravel their mysteries and explain their phenomena, 
became the sport of every strange fact or uncommon 
occurrence which nature presented. The sudden ap- 
pearance of an eclipse, or of a comet with its blazing 
tail, the coruscations of the Aurora Borealis, the ex- 
plosion of subterranean gases, the bursting up of vol- 
canic fires, the ignis fatuus, dancing over the marshy 
meadow at nightfall, have often filled whole nations 
with alarm. 

Nor in those cases where a solution of these physical 
facts was known to a few more gifted than their fellows 
were the masses the wiser or the better. For such 
knowledge was hoarded up with jealous care — became 
the exclusive property of the mysterious alchymist— the 
cunning priest, the ambitious ruler, and was held in 
terror over the heads of the multitude. 

And it is a subject of curious investigation, to trace 
out the mode in which science thus became an instru- 
ment in the hands of the few, to overawe and enslave the 
many. And we believe that history will bear us out in 
the assertion, that every known branch of physical 
science was laid under contribution to sustain some one 
species of religious and political imposture. 

How often did a knowledge of the principles of As- 
tronomy enable the general on the eve of battle, to 
calculate the time of an approaching eclipse, and at- 
tacking the enemy at the moment darkness was spread- 
ing over the earth, decide the contest in his own favor, 
by appealing to this visible interposition of the gods. 
Did not Archimedes, by his knowledge of Mechanics, 
toss the Eoman ships in the air ? or consume them with 



PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 39 

his burning lenses, thus arming Syracuse with protec- 
tion more terrible than a wall of fire ? 

The Egyptian priests, by some secret art resembling 
our modern mesmerism, could charm the adder, and the 
serpent, and thus rivet the chains of ghostly power upon 
the necks of the people. In a word, what constituted 
the hidden mysteries of the ancient sorcerer, the physi- 
cian, the astrologer ? Nothing but a knowledge of a 
few chemical, astronomical, or herbal secrets, as familiar 
now as the letters of the alphabet. Doubtless the secret 
use which the ancients made of their scientific discov- 
eries, has prevented many of their inventions from 
reaching our day : as for instance, the Egyptian art of 
embalming their dead, and the erection of the pyra- 
mids. Yet an examination of most of their famous 
miracles and fables will show us that their chief decep- 
tions had their origin in physical science. 

"■ The science of acoustics furnished the ancient sor- 
cerers with some of their best deceptions. The imitation 
of thunder in their subterranean temples could not fail 
to indicate to a superstitious worshiper, the presence of a 
supernatural agent. The golden virgins, whose charm- 
ing voices resounded through the temple of Delphos, — 
the stone from the river Pactolus, whose trumpet notes 
frightened the robber from the treasure which it guarded; 
the speaking head which uttered its oracular responses 
at Lesbos ; the vocal statue of Memnon, which began at 
break of day to accost the rising sun in strains of 
melody; were all deceptions, derived from science, and 
from an imitation of the phenomenona of nature." 

The principles of Hydrostatics were equally available 
in the work of popular deception. The marvelous 
fountain, which Pliny describes, in the island of An- 
dros, as discharging wine for seven days, and water 
during the rest of the year ; the spring of oil, which 



40 PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 

broke out at Koine, to welcome the return of Augustus 
from the Oicilian war; the empty urns which filled 
themselves with wine at the annual bacchanalian feasts 
in the city of Elis ; the weeping statues, and the per- 
petual lamps in the old Greek and Eoman temples ; 
were all the effects of the equilibrium and pressure of 
fluids, known to the initiated, but hid from the vulgar. 

The department of Mechanics, also, lent its aid. In 
the' Eleusinian mysteries of ancien Eome, when the un- 
fortunate victim was carried off by the gods, there is 
reason to believe that he was hurried away by the aid 
of machinery concealed in their temples. 

When Appolonius, conducted by the Indian sages to 
the sanctuary of their deity, felt the earth rising and 
sinking beneath his feet, like the agitated sea, he was 
doubtless placed upon a moving floor, made to imitate 
the heaving of the waves. 

The rapid descent of those who consulted the oracle 
in the cave of Trophonius ; the walking statues of An- 
tium; the wooden pigeons of Archytas; yea, almost 
all the pretended miracles of antiquity, are specimens of 
the mechanical resources of ancient magic. 

But, doubtless, the science of Optics was the main de- 
pendence in the ancient arts of deception. The power 
of bringing remote objects apparently within the very 
grasp of the observer, and swelling into gigantic mag- 
nitude objects the most minute, never fails to inspire 
with astonishment even those who know something of 
the process by which such marvels are accomplished. 
What then must have been their effect upon the minds 
of the ignorant ? The ancients, indeed, were not ac- 
quainted with those combinations of lenses and mirrors 
which constitute the modern telescope and microscope, 
but they possessed the power of distorting, inverting, 
and even of igniting objects by means of plates of 



THYSICAL SCIENCE. 41 

polished steel ; and in many of the descriptions of the 
optical displays which hallowed their temples, we rec- 
ognize all the transformations of the modern phantas- 
magoria (See Brewster's Letters). 

Now, when we contemplate these facts, how wonder- 
ful the change in the aspect and use of the physical 
sciences ! How has the fight arm of superstition been 
broken ? How has the giant been shorn of his strength 
and laid harmless at our feet ? and man can now walk 
abroad, and gaze upon nature in all her external dis- 
plays or hidden wonders, unawed, unterrified. 

2. Another new aspect which the physical sciences 
have assumed, and in which they differ from what they 
were in former ages, is their diffusion. Once they well 
deserved the name of Occult Sciences ; for they were 
secrets known only to the few — sacred mysteries veiled 
from the vulgar. They were like light upon the moun- 
tain top, while the valleys were wrapped in darkness — 
fountains in high places, whose streams sent down a 
penurious supply to the plains below. 

The custom, ever since the revival of- learning, of 
writing all scientific works in the Latin language (a 
language unknown to the people) ; the scarcity and 
high price of books; the want of philosophical instru- 
ments, in connection with the warlike habits of the 
world — all conspired to render science, for many ages, 
a monopoly, and confined it to the call of the monk, and 
the dusty garret of the alchymist. But now the spell is 
dissolved. Nature has thrown wide her doors, has re- 
vealed her hidden wonders, and all meti are invited to 
enter and worship at her shrine. 

The physical sciences received their first great im- 
pulse from the art of printing, fostered by the universal 
inquisitiveness and adventurous spirit which that art 
created. Next came the labors of Lord Bacon (the 



42 PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 

greatest genius, in many respects, which England ever 
produced), who pointed out the only true mode of phi- 
losophizing. Then came the discoveries of Galileo, Kep- 
ler, and Newton ; and finally, about the middle of the 
last century, there began to issue from the press a large 
number of popular works on natural history, geogra- 
phy, astronomy, and experimental philosophy; and 
these, divested of the pedantry of former times, and the 
technicalities of the old philosophy, began to operate on 
the mass, and transferred knowledge from the few to 
the many — from the pampered priest and feudal lord, 
to the peasant and mechanic. And thus, in process of 
time, a new order of things has arisen. A new era in 
the age of the world has dawned. And now the arts 
and sciences are like the light of the sun, or the showers 
that burst from the clouds, or the broad surface oi 
rivers and seas; the birthright and blessing of all men ; 
and, guided by the light of a few simple principles, mul- 
titudes in the humbler walks of life, who would once 
have been spurned as unworthy to set their unhallowed 
feet upon the threshold of the temple of science, are 
astonishing the world by their inventions and dis- 
coveries. Verily " many are running to and fro, and 
knowledge is increased." 

3. Another remarkable aspect of the physical sciences, 
and in which they differ essentially from what they 
once were, is their practical tendency ; their every day 
utility; their adaptedness to the actual state of things ; 
affording direct alleviation to the physical and social 
wants of man. 

The age of theories and day-dreams is no more. The 
time when men shut themselves up, and exhausted both 
mind and body with learned trifles, and spun out fine 
cobwebs of the brain, of no practical benefit to them- 
selves or others, has passed away never to return. 



PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 43 

How humiliating to contemplate the follies of the 
ancient school-men; the utter destitution in their most 
profound disquisitions of anything like practical utility. 
Yea, it would seem that the greatest philosophers were 
the greatest fools, and that the higher they advanced 
in their fancied learning, the farther they receded from 
common sense. " Men," says Lord Bacon, " withdrew 
themselves from the contemplation of Nature, and 
tumbled up and down, in their own fancies and conceits. 
They sought truth in their own little world, and not 
in the great and common world " around them. 

Behold a conclave of grave fathers of the Church, 
laboring with holy fervor and orthodox zeal, to deter- 
mine, — whether God can exist as well in imaginary 
space as in real space ; whether God loves a non-exist- 
ing angel more than an existing insect ; whether 
angels can see in the dark ; whether an angel can pass 
from one point of space to another, without passing 
through the intermediate space. Is it not such " stuff 
that dreams are made of?" Equally absurd were the trifles 
which absorbed the attention of the student of physical 
science. Look at one toiling from youth to hoary age 
to find out the philosopher's stone; another, the secret 
of transmuting all metals into gold; a third is bent 
upon the perpetual motion ; a fourth tortures Nature to 
extract from her a universal medicine, by which to cure 
all earthly diseases and rejuvenate the powers of man ; 
while a fifth consults the stars to foretell coming events, 
and cast the horoscope of kings. 

"They could foretell whatever was 
By consequence to come to pass — 
As death of great men, alterations, 
Diseases, battles, inundations ; 
They would search a planet's house to know 
Who broke and robbed a house below ; 



44 PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 

Examine Venus and the moon, 

Who stole a thimble or a spoon ; 

They would question Mars, and, by his looks, 

Detect who 'twas that soiled your books ; 

They'd feel the pulses of the stars, 

To find out agues, coughs, catarrhs ; 

And all earth's mysteries unriddle, 

As easily as you can thread a needle." — Hudibras. 

But now this age of learned folly, of wise ignorance, 
of sublime nonsense, has passed forever away, and been 
succeeded by an age of practical utility. 

And now can be realized, in some good degree, another 
beautiful sentiment of the great Lord Bacon : " Men no 
longer seek in knowledge a couch, whereon to rest a 
searching and restless spirit; nor a terrace, for a wan- 
dering mind to walk up and down, with a fair prospect ; 
nor a tower of state, for a fond mind to raise itself upon ; 
nor a fort or commanding ground, for strife and conten- 
tion ; nor a shop, for profit and sale ; but a rich store- 
house, for the glory of the Creator and the good of man's 
estate." 

We set out by attempting to account for all the 
strange facts and phenomena of antiquity, upon some 
well-known principle of physical science. We think 
we have explained a few, but there are some which are 
too profound for our philosophy. For instance, Mer- 
catus, physician to Philip II. of Spain, relates that he 
actually saw a beautiful lady break a steel mirror to 
pieces, and peel the bark off some trees, by a single 
glance of her eyes ! Josephus relates that a certain Jew, 
named Eleazer, in the presence of the Emperor Vespa- 
sian, drew the devil out of an old woman's nostrils by 
the application of Solomon's seal to her nose! Good 
old Dr. Mynsight is said to have cured several bewitched 
persons with a plaster of assafcetida. How the assa- 



PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 45 

foetida was efficacious was much disputed among the 
learned. Some thought the devil might consider such 
an application to any part an insult, and ran off in a 
passion. But others very sagely observed that, as devils 
are supposed to have eyes and ears, they doubtless have 
noses also, and dislike vile smells to come between the 
wind and their olfactories. But let us drop this point, 
lest we suffer in the conflict. It is dangerous to meddle 
with devils and witches. 

They'll haul you o'er the coals, 
And stir the fires of Phlegethon, 
With every mother's son ; 
Nor say one single mass, 
To cool the caldron's bubble, 
That boils your bones — 
Unless you pay them double. 

We repeat the remark, that every branch of physical 
science is now cultivated, primarily, for the sake of 
utility. " Qui bono" is the motto of every philosopher. 
Behold Astronomy taking up her instruments, and 
making an actual measurement of the magnitude and 
distances of the heavenly bodies, explaining their influ- 
ences and variations, and even measuring the comet in 
its swift and fiery flight. The moon has struck and 
come under our lee, that we may gaze upon her burning 
mountains. The little star, which seems no bigger than 
the diamond that glitters on a lady's ring, is really 
found to be the center of a magnificent system, around 
which vast worlds revolve. 

View Meteorology, explaining the laws of the clouds, 
and the philosophy of storms, for the benefit of the 
farmer, the mariner, and the fisherman. 

Geology searches amid primeval rocks, and the dry 
beds of old oceans, to furnish man with a knowledge of 
shells and soils and metals. 



46 PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 

Natural History unfolds, for practical purposes, the 
properties and uses of beasts, insects, and birds. 

Botany takes man by the hand, and leads him out 
into the green fields, to teach him the uses of plants 
and roots and flowers. 

Chemistry stands behind her retorts and crucibles, 
and discourses of earths and alkalies and gases, teaching 
man how to compound medicines, prepare food, improve 
soils, burnish metals, manufacture glass, disinfect im- 
pure habitations, and bleach and dye garments. 

And what shall we say of Mechanics ? Calling to her 
aid a few of the simple principles of nature and art, and 
pressing them into her service, she has given the world 
the mariner's compass, the safety-lamp, the diving-bell, 
the air-pump, the microscope, the spinning-jenny, the 
lightning-rod, the magnetic needle, the electric tele- 
graph. Such are her rich gifts to man. 

And what shall we say of the practical application of 
science in the wonders of Steam ? Oh, this is the lever 
by which we. are moving the world. It has armed the 
feeble hand of man with a power to which no limits can 
be assigned, completed the dominion of mind over matter, 
and is causing old things to pass away and all things to 
become new. Men have dug down mountains and 
crossed oceans by steam. The Birmingham fire-king 
has visited the fabulous East, and the genius of the 
Cape has been alarmed at the thunders of his voice. 
The shuttle drops from the fingers of the weaver, and 
falls into iron fingers that can move it faster. The 
horse is stripped of its harness, and finds a fleet fire- 
horse yoked in its stead. The sailor has folded his sails, 
to bid a strong, unwearied servant to bear him on vapory 
wings over the waters. "The Allegheny has bowed 
down his back like a camel to receive the load of com- 
merce; and the waters have gone over him, and the 



PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 47 

navies of boats ride in triumph over his high places." 
Nature, through all her works, has surrendered. The 
victory of mind is achieved. Even distance has been 
annihilated, and, panic-struck, has vanished from St. 
Anthony to New Orleans ; and the panic is spreading, 
and distance, in all directions, is fleeing away. If such 
are the achievements of Science in her infancy, what 
will she not achieve when arrived at manhood ? when 
other Newtons, and Arkwrights, and Fultons, and 
Morses shall arise, with minds still more brilliantly illu- 
minated with the lights of science, and the splendid 
achievements of the present age shall be far surpassed 
by the future miracles of mechanic power. 

4. We should be doing violence to our own feelings, 
and injustice to our subject, were we to omit to point 
out another prominent characteristic of physical science. 
It is the fact that it is confirmatory of revelation. It is 
becoming the direct auxiliary of Christianity . And 
every new fact and development is only adding to that 
great cloud of witnesses which attest the divinity of our 
holy religion. Once it was not so. Once science was 
viewed with suspicion. Once it was discountenanced 
because of its supposed contrariety to the principles of 
the Gospel. The inventor of the art of printing was 
thought to be in league with the devil. Galileo was 
cast into the dungeons of the Inquisition, for teaching 
that the sun is stationary and the earth moves around 
it. Columbus was opposed in his theory of the globular 
shape of the world, and of a western passage to the In- 
dies, by its alleged inconsistency with revelation. But 
a, short time has elapsed since geology was looked upon 
as subversive of the whole Mosaic narrative. But now 
how changed the whole aspect of the scientific world. 
Our men of wisdom are becoming men of God. Every 
science and every system is now bringing its offering, to 



48 PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 

lay them at the foot of the cross. Science and Revela- 
tion walk hand in hand, the one as the queen, the other 
as the queen-daughter by her side. And the missionary 
of salvation, as he goes far hence to enlighten the teem- 
ing millions of the East, has only to teach the first 
principles of physical science, and many of the systems 
of heathenism begin to crumble, and their idols totter 
to the ground. Glorious aspect of the sign of the times. 
The revelations of nature are in harmony with the 
revelations of Scripture. And future Lockes, placing 
it above all philosophy ; and Bacons, above all learning ; 
and Newtons, above all science ; and Miltons, above all 
song — each bearing his precious gift — shall come, like 
Eastern magi, with their gold, their frankincense and 
myrrh, and lay them in lowly worship at the feet of the 
Prince of Peace. 

I call upon the devotee of science to contemplate this 
noble and sublime aspect of revealed religion. It is the 
great fixed point around which all things else revolve, 
while itself remains unchanged. It is the emblem of 
Him who gave it, the all-embracing medium, in which 
every other thing moves, increases, or lessens, is born 
and destroyed. It is the last refuge of thought, the 
binding link between the visible and invisible. It is 
the solution of all anomalies, the determination of all 
problems in outward nature and in the inward soul. It 
is the fixing and steadifying element of every system, 
the grand object of every meditation. It appears to us 
even as the olive, that emblem of peace and duration, as 
described by Sophocles; a plant not set by human 
hands, but of spontaneous and necessary growth, in the 
great order of creative wisdom ; fearful to its enemies, 
and so firmly grounded that none, in ancient or modern 
times, have been able to uproot it. Yea, it is a monu- 
ment, standing in the solitude of the desert, upon which 



PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 49 

is inscribed the history of men and nations, which for 
ages rose and flourished, and then burst like bubbles at 
its base. It is a rock in the ocean of time, which has 
braved the fury of a thousand storms. It has withstood 
the plots of politicians, the revolutions of empires, the 
gloom of the dark ages, the sophistry of infidels, the 
fires of martyrdom, and the rage of devils. 

In concluding this imperfect sketch of the present 
aspect and practical tendencies of the physical sciences, 
we shall detain the audience with only one reflection. 
This subject teaches the transcendent importance of 
fostering schools and colleges. The discoveries of the 
past must be carefully transmitted to the future. And 
what shall be the medium ? Let the great Lord Bacon 
answer. . "Our duty towards learning," says he, "is 
conversant about three objects — the places of learning, 
the books of learning, and the persons of the learned. 
For as water, whether it be of the dew of heaven, or the 
springs of the earth, doth scatter and lose itself in the 
ground, except it be collected into some receptacle, 
where it may, by union, comfort and sustain itself; and 
for tnat cause the industry of man hath made and 
framed spring-heads, conduits, cisterns, and pools, which 
men have accustomed likewise to beautify and adorn ; 
so this excellent liquor of knowledge, whether it descends 
from divine inspiration or springs from human sense, 
would soon perish and vanish to oblivion, if it were not 
preserved in books, traditions, conferences, and places 
appointed; as universities, colleges, and schools, for the 
receipt and comforting of the same." Let all, then, 
who are engaged in founding institutions of learning, 
be encouraged by the fact that they are forming spring- 
heads and pools to collect and preserve " this excellent 
liquor of knowledge." Not all the luster of a noble 
birth, not all the influence of wealth or fame, not all 
3 



50 PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 

the pomp of titles, not all the splendor of power, not 
all the joys of carnal pleasure, not all the charms of 
beauty, can impart such dignity to the soul, or so 
assimilate man to the angels, as this. This will grow, 
while all else decays. This will cling to us, while all 
else forsakes. This will survive, while the grandest 
works of genius and of art will expire amid the univer- 
sal wreck of matter and of worlds. Colleges will outlive 
empires. 



DUELING IE" VICKSBUKG. 



About the time of the removal of the Indians from 
North Mississippi to the Indian Territory, west of the 
river, Vicksburg began to assume the appearance of a 
city. On my arrival from Louisiana to take the pastoral 
charge of the Presbyterian Church in that place, in the 
Fall of 1836, I beheld a most animated scene. The eye 
of the stranger was greeted by the sight of a most bril- 
liant panorama — crowded streets, thronged wharfs, well- 
filled warehouses, and a large and bustling population. 
Every man seemed to be a man of business. Multi- 
tudes were running to and fro. The countenances of 
all beamed with hope, the hearts of all beat high with 
joyous expectation. Crowds of Virginians and Ken- 
tuckians, with their families and slaves, were pouring in 
from every steamer ; and from this city of the bluffs, as 
from a hill of observation, multitudes were selecting 
fresh homes on the Sunflower, the Yazoo, and other por- 
tions of the vast territory offered for sale, by the with- 
drawal of the red men to the further west. New streets 
were opening, scores of new dwellings were in process 
of erection, and every corner rang with the noise of the 
saw and the hammer. Property of all kinds in Vicks- 
burg rose to a fabulous height; and hotels were crowded 
to such a degree as to make it necessary to portion out, 
by clialTc-marlcs on the floor, designated spots where 
strangers might lie down and repose for the night. 
Physicians and lawyers and land speculators were innu- 



52 DUELING IN 7ICKSBUKG. 

merable. No city in the South was more attractive than 
Vicksburg. Every man was going to Vicksburg. Every 
speculator was buying lots in Vicksburg. Soon, how- 
ever, the scene was changed. That melancholy pecu- 
niary revulsion which, in 1838, came upon the whole 
commercial world, spread like a funeral pall over the 
young city. The hum of business began to die away. 
The wheels of industry moved sluggishly. The sinews 
of trade were cut ; and ere long every citizen experi- 
enced the effects of a wide-spread embarrassment. And 
soon, from loss of confidence and loss of trade, from 
fires and epidemics, Vicksburg became but the shadow 
of its former self. Its wealth had taken to itself wings 
like an eagle, and had fled. The gay and busy multi- 
tude tha.t once thronged its streets had faded away. 
They slept their last sleep on the bleak hillside after 
life's fitful fever was over. " Lord, what is man ! His 
days are as grass. As a flower of the field, so he flour- 
isheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone ; 
and the place thereof shall know it no more, forever." 

Let us take a brief glance at another "picture from 
life in Vicksburg." We pass over the years of 1838 and 
1839, down to 1840. But the gloomy fall of 1841, who 
can forget it, who can describe it? It was the great 
yellow fever year. If an invading army had suddenly 
burst upon the town, the panic could not have been 
more terrible or the effects more desolating. Disease 
and death entered almost every dwelling. For six long 
weeks we bore the dead to the grave in almost one con- 
tinuous stream. The shafts of the pestilence flew thick 
and fast. And the fairest were the first to fall. The 
maiden was cut down in her bloom and beauty, the 
young man in the midst of his pleasures; the old man 
and the man of influence, the learned counselor and the 
eloquent orator. Death tore away the props of families, 



DUELING IN YICKSBUKG. 53 

removed the ornaments of the State, broke down the 
pillars of the church, and clad our city in lamentation 
and woe, leaving behind weeping widows and desolate 
orphans. Then, upon a damp and chilly Sabbath 
morning in November, with a heart almost broken with 
the afflictions of the people, I staggered to the church, 
and in the audience of sixty- four men (all told), and 
not a female in the house, I spoke from these words of 
St. Paul : "But this I say, brethren, the time is short. 
It remaineth that both they that have wives be as though 
they had none; and they that weep, as though they 
wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced 
not ; and they that buy, as though they possessed not ; 
and they that use this world, as not abusing it, for the 
fashion of this world passeth away." 

Turn over to another tragedy in the Walnut Hill 
city. Vicksburg had been, for some years before the 
season of yellow fever, the seat of the gamblers. The 
formidable gang of the Murell men, which had per- 
vaded the entire State, had been dispersed. Murell, 
their ringleader, had been incarcerated in the peniten- 
tiary at Nashville, and hordes of horse-thieves and ne- 
gro-stealers had been broken up. Then another formi- 
dable cloud arose. Fierce and lawless men, but of pol- 
ished manners, who had been increasing in numbers and 
power in the young city of Vicksburg, had attracted 
the notice of the people of the great South, and had 
even called down the animadversions of members of the 
British Parliament. Gamblers ruled the day. Gam- 
bling-tables had usurped the place of law and set peace- 
ful citizens at defiance. Suddenly the mass of quiet 
and law-abiding men, who loved their property and their 
families, arose in their armed majesty, and, after the 
outlaws had killed Dr. Bodley, they seized the ringlead- 
ers, put some on flatboats and set them adrift on the 



54 DUELING IN VICKSBUBG. 

Mississippi, and dragging five of the remaining num- 
ber to a neighboring hill, improvised a long gallows, 
hung them by the neck until they were dead, and buried 
them in unhallowed graves. 

Then, for a time, the place had peace. Next arose 
the reign of the duello. Almost " every man had his 
little game." Every one had his duel. Rival lovers had 
their duel. Almost every dispute was settled by a duel. 
Foote and Prentiss had their duel. Hagan and McCar- 
dle had their duel. There were duels of pastime and 
duels of etiquette. Aikenhead and Flaherty fought 
about the right mode of preparing Irish potatoes for 
the dinner- table. Chilton and Harris left the Odd Fel- 
low'slodge when in session, crossed the river, and fought. 
General Foote and S. S. Prentiss had another awkward 
duel; and so crooked was the general's firing, that 
Prentiss cried out to the little boys on the trees that 
overhung the ground, " Boys, look out, or you will be 
hit. General Foote can't shoot straight. He has 
missed me three times." Lastly, there were some who 
became celebrated surgeons or famous seconds to duels. 
Dr. Green was tall and gaunt. He seemed to me far 
above six feet high, solemn and grim at that : 

" The fiend was long, and lean, and lank, 
And moved upon a spindle shank." 

But because of his skill in loading rifles for duels, Pren- 
tiss dabbed him " Death's ramrod." 

Thus, from grave to gay, swung the popular current. 

The last serious affair of the kind, to which I would 
now advert, was the celebrated duel between Col. A. K. 
McClung and Major Menifee, opposite the city, in No- 
vember, 1838. Col. McClung was a nephew of Chief 
Justice Marshall, was a famous duelist, skilled to per- 
fection in deadly weapons, had killed Col. Allen, of 



DUELING IN VICKSBUBG. 55 

Brandon, and, after many rencounters of the kind, 
finally committed suicide. A challenge was passed and 
accepted between the parties. Great preparations were 
made. Fresh dueling weapons were ordered from New 
Orleans. Sporting men came in crowds from Jackson, 
Brandon, and the interior towns. Bets were freely made t 
and accepted. The hills around the fatal spot were 
covered with thousands of spectators. At the hour ap- 
pointed the parties took their position, the word was 
given, the parties fired, and Menifee fell. Mc Clung fled 
to the interior. Major Menifee was buried on Friday. 

On the following Sabbath morning a crowd assembled 
at the Presbyterian Church, when the writer, who had 
been preparing a discourse for the occasion, arose and 
spoke as follows 

THE CODE OF HONOB. 

" Thou shalt not kill."— Exodus 20 : 13. This pro- 
hibitory enactment of heaven, was designed to be of 
universal application ; forbidding the taking, not merely 
the life of man, but likewise of beast. 

Before any one, therefore, can be innocent in taking 
life from any creature, whether rational or irrational, 
he must first obtain express permission from the same- 
high authority from which this law originally emanated. 
Such permission, has, in some few particular cases, been 
obtained. Thus God expressly gave to Noah and his 
sons permission to destroy the lives of animals and use 
their flesh as food. And this grant contains our only 
warrant for the taking of animal life. 

If, then, we may not take the lives of animals without 
express permission from the King of heaven, much less 
may we take away the life of man — God's noblest work, 
made in his own image, constituted Lord of Creation, 
endowed with reason, and heir of immortality. 



56 DUELING IN VICKSBUKG. 

Has God specified any cases where the life of man 
may be taken ? He has. The Scriptures, in several 
places and in a variety of forms, declare that human life 
may be lawfully destroyed in righteous warfare between 
two nations; by the civil magistrate as a punishment 
• for murder, and in necessary self-defence. With these 
three exceptions, the Scriptures are most solemn and 
fearful in their denunciations of divine wrath and in- 
dignation against the destruction of human life under 
any other circumstances. 

The prohibition of the text therefore — "thou shalt 
not kill"— is aimed directly against all acts of violence 
offered to man which are not included under these three 
specified exceptions, i. e., it is aimed against murder, 
suicide, and dueling. I call your attention to the latter 
crime. 

Dueling is a crime of very great prevalence, upheld 
by many plausible arguments, and sometimes practiced 
or countenanced by individuals of high respectability, 
and in some respects of much moral worth. 

What are the arguments against it f 

1. Its very origin and history condemns it. Dueling 
was entirely unknown among the ancient Greeks and 
Romans. The polished Greek knew nothing of it ; the 
noble Roman was above it. The custom is exclusively 
of a heathenish and savage origin. It arose among the 
fierce and warlike nations of the north of Europe. The 
ancient Germans, Danes, and Franks, carried this mode 
of warfare so far, that none were excused, except women, 
sick persons, cripples, and those over sixty years of 
age. Even ecclesiastics and monks were required to 
decide many of their contests by an appeal to single 
combat. 

Bear in mind, however, that the object and design of 
contest by duel, among those northern barbarians, was 



DUELING IN VICKSBUKG. 57 

very different and far more rational, than the duel of 
modern times. 

The object of the ancient duel was to decide impor- 
tant points relative to crime or property. Criminal ac- 
cusations, or titles to landed estates, were always the 
subjects of dispute. And the trial by duel was a species 
of high court of appeals. It was considered as a direct 
reference of the whole matter to God, the great arbiter 
of right ; who, it was believed, would always decide the 
contest by terminating it in favor of the innocent party ; 
and then the party vanquished, if not slain upon the 
spot, was punished by hanging, beheading, or mutila- 
tion of members. 

But the design of the modern duel is vastly different. 
Its object is to decide, not the titles to property, or ac- 
cusations of crime, but points of honor — points of such 
a delicate and invisible character, that half the world 
have never yet been able to perceive them, or determine 
in what they consist. 

The modern duel, or the duel upon points of honor, 
may be dated as far back as the year 1528, when 
Charles V., emperor of Germany, challenged Francis I. 
of France, by a public herald, accompanied by the grace- 
ful epithets of coward, liar, poltroon, etc. From that 
period it became customary, throughout Europe, when- 
ever a gentleman 1 received an insult or injury which 
seemed to touch his honor, he thought himself entitled 
immediately to draw his sword and demand satisfac- 
tion. Dueling became so common in France, that it is 
calculated that six thousand persons perished in single 
combat, during ten years of the reign of Henry IV. 
The effusion of human blood from the same cause, was 
frightfully prevalent in England during the time of 
James I. and the two Charleses. And what is the his- 
tory of this bloody code of honor in our own land? 



58 DUELING IN VICKSBURG. 

Within the last half century of our political existence, 
how often has our land been clad in mourning ? How 
often have we yielded up the most costly victim to glut 
the maw of this bloody Moloch ? Hamilton, and Deca- 
tur, and Cilley, and a host of others, both of our army 
and navy, the pride of many a rising family, our coun- 
try's strength in war, its ornaments in peace, — Oh " how 
are the mighty fallen ! " How have the most valuable 
lives been sacrificed, and the most precious blood been 
spilt, in conformity to a custom which knows no origin 
but superstition, no reason but madness, no apology but 
revenge! And the practice is still gaining ground, with, 
all its attendant curses, — such as the dishonorable and 
cowardly practice of carrying concealed weapons, mak- 
ing a man an offender for a word — bloody broils and 
street fights — a disposition to decide every contest, ex- 
cept that relating to property, by a resort to the pistol 
or the dagger. Even our sacred halls of legislation 
have been the scene of bloody strife. Alas, our land 
is soaked in gore, and calls on God for vengeance. 
The very history of dueling then, with its attendant 
evils, proclaims its condemnation and brands it with 
infamy. 

2. Dueling is a direct violation of all the settled prin- 
ciples of law, both human and divine. 

In Genesis, 9 : 6, God thus declares : " "Whoso shed- 
deth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed ; for 
in the image of God made he man." 

In Numbers, 35 : 16, etc., it is thus written — if a man 
smite any person " with an instrument of iron, so that 
he die," he is a murderer ; " the murderer shall surely be 
put to death." And if he smite him " with a hand weapon 
of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a mur- 
derer; the murderer shall surely be put to death." 
" Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put 



DUELING IN YICKSBURG. 59 

to death by the mouth of witnesses." " Moreover, ye 
shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer who 
is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death." 
" The land cannot be cleansed of the blood shed therein 
but by the blood of him that shed it." Such is the law 
of God. Equally explicit are the laws of man. What 
says Blackstone, Book IV., ch. 14? "If two persons, A 
and B, agree to fight a duel, and A gives the first onset, 
and B retreats as far as he safely can, and then kills A, 
this is murder, because of the previous malice and con- 
certed design." Again says the same authority : "Kill- 
ing must be committed with malice aforethought to 
make it the crime of murder." " This takes in the case 
of deliberate dueling, where both parties meet avow- 
edly with an intent to murder, thinking it their duty 
as gentlemen, and claiming it as their right to wanton 
with their own lives and those of their fellow creatures, 
without any warrant or authority from any power, 
either divine or human, but in direct contradiction to 
the laws of both God and man ; and, therefore, the law 
has justly fixed the crime of punishment of murder on 
them, and their seconds also." 

"What says Dr. Paley ? " Murder is forbidden, and 
wherever human life is deliberately taken away, other- 
wise than by public authority, there is murder." 

What says Mr. Eu&sell, in his treatise on crimes ? " A 
party killing another in a deliberate duel is guilty of 
murder, and cannot help himself by alleging that he 
was first struck by the deceased, or that he had often 
declined to meet him, and was prevailed upon to do so 
by his importunity, or that it was his intent only to 
vindicate his reputation, or that he meant not to kill, 
only to disarm his adversary. He has deliberately 
engaged in an act highly unlawful, and he must abide 
the consequences." 



60 DUEIJNG IN VICKSBURG. 

Sucli is the law of England. The laws of almost 
every commonwealth in the United States are equally 
explicit. In Vermont, for killing in a duel, it is death. 
In Massachusetts it is the same. In Rhode Island, 
for fighting, although death may not ensue, the punish- 
ment is carting to the gallows, with a rope about the 
neck, and sitting on the gallows an hour, and subse- 
quent imprisonment. In Maryland and Virginia, it is 
political disfranchisement. What is the law of Missis- 
sippi ? The challenger, or bearer of a challenge, is pro- 
hibited from holding any office of trust, and is liable to 
six months' imprisonment, and a fine of one thousand 
dollars. 

All justices of the peace are required to give testi- 
mony against duelists, and the survivors in a duel 
required to pay the debts of the man killed. 

But here is a code of laws, setting at naught all these 
sacred enactments both of earth and heaven. Coming 
out like Goliath of Oath, and defying the authority of 
the living God. 

3. Dueling is murder, and that too of the most aggra- 
vated and enormous character, and it is murder, not 
merely where the death of one of the parties ensues. 
For the common law declares that if one man attempts 
the life of another and fails in the attempt, he is a mur- 
derer, and should be punished accordingly. Look, too, 
at the many additional circumstances, which constitute 
every duel, whether resulting fatally or not, the most 
heaven-daring murder. 

It is premeditated murder ; for every challenge con- 
tains a proposition to kill or be killed. It is accepted 
always with the express expectation of killing or being 
killed. It is deliberate murder ; for days and even 
weeks often elapse previous to the contemplated meet- 
ing. In the meantime weapons are prepared, and that 



DUELING EN YTCKSBURG. 61 

too of the most deadly character. Previous practicing 
takes place. Friends are chosen. The spot is marked 
out. Witnesses are present. The broad light of heaven 
beams down upon the guilty scene ; and then, all things 
being ready, the most deliberate aim is taken at the seat 
of life — the head, the heart, and the lungs. 

Can any murder be conceived of a more atrocious 
character than this? Does the highwayman or the 
assassin commit murder under circumstances half so 
aggravating? Murder, then, is committed in duels with 
ten-fold more deliberation than murder under any other 
circumstances, and murder is here committed without 
any adequate cause. " Trifles light as air," causes the 
most contemptible and silly, a rash word, a disrespectful 
look, an indiscreet remark, dropped in the heat of de- 
bate, the clashing claims of rival lovers, party politics, 
petty envy — oh! these are the causes for which men ex- 
pose their blood, and rush upon the bosses of Jehovah's 
buckler. 

But it is said that the duelist feels no malice ; that 
he tights merely for the point of honor. Neither does 
the highwayman feel malice. He who cuts the throat 
and rifles the pocket of the passing traveler, feels no 
malice ; and if he could procure his money at a less 
costly price, would stay his murderous hand and let the 
trembling victim off. But what says the common law 
relative to this thing of killing without malice ? It de- 
clares where one man assails another with a deadly 
instrument with an intent to kill, malice is implied. 
For if he have not a particular malice, he entertains a 
general malice — a malice against all mankind — an in- 
nate thirst for blood, which renders him unfit to live. 
But we deny that the duelist is free from particular 
malice. 

Duels are generally the result of the most deliberate 



02 DUELING IN YICKSBUKG. 

malice; burning, diabolical malice; malice, which 
nothing will satisfy but the heart's blood. 

Duelists, as a class, are preeminently haughty, irri- 
table and revengeful, and to overlook an insult, that 
magnanimous act of a noble soul, is, in their view, the 
height of pusilanimity. 

4. Dueling is suicide, as well as murder, and suicide 
may be committed not merely by one's own weapon, but 
by the weapon of another. 

To permit another man deliberately to kill you, is the 
same as to commit the act yourself. Take away the 
circumstance of the duelist exposing his own life, and 
dueling becomes assassination. Add this circumstance 
and it becomes suicide. And who gave you authority 
to take away your own life, that most precious treasure, 
upon which such momentous interests depend ? Your 
life is not your own. It belongs to your friends, your 
family, your creditors, your country. How dare you 
then, destroy that in which you do not possess an ex- 
clusive title ? How dare you destroy that which was 
giveu you with which to work out your soul's salvation ? 
Yea, the duelist puts himself upon an equality with the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Christ says, " I have power (or au- 
thority) to lay down my life." The duelist says " so 
have I ! " 

5. Dueling affords no reasonable prospect of securing 
the proposed end. The end or object proposed by the 
duelist is to gain satisfaction for some alleged insult, or 
to inflict punishment for some alleged crime. But how 
can the fighting a duel secure either satisfaction or 
punishment, seeing that the innocent is just as liable 
to fall as the guilty; seeing that the victim depends not 
upon the rectitude of the cause, but upon skill in the 
use of deadly weapons. Or, is the object of a duel to 
wipe off a disgrace, to repel a foul and infamous charge ? 



DUELING IN VICKSBUKG. 63 

How can it possibly effect this object ? How can 
smoke, and noise, and blood alter the nature of things ? 
I am accused of being a liar, how can the firing of a 
pistol make me a man of truth ? I am accused of being 
a villain and a knave, how can the same process prove 
the charge false, and make me an honorable man ? 

But absurd as it would seem to the dull comprehen- 
sion of some of us, such is the magic power of an ex- 
change of shots. According to the' laws of honor, " it 
entirely varnishes over a defective and smutty charac- 
ter ; transforms vice to virtue ; cowardice to courage ; 
makes falsehood, truth ; guilt, innocence." In a word, 
it gives a new complexion to the whole state of things. 
The Ethiopian changes his skin, the leopard his spots ; 
and the debauched and treacherous, having shot away 
the infamy of a sorry life, comes back from the field of 
perfectibility quite regenerated, and in the fullest sense, 
an honorable man. He is now fit for the company of 
" gentlemen." And let none dare dispute his title, or 
he will vindicate his tarnished honor by another act of 
homicide. Oh, what a cheap and expeditious mode of 
making gentlemen ! 

6. Dueling implies cowardice. Many brave men have 
fought, but their fighting was no part of their bravery. 
True, there may be courage, but it is only brute cour- 
age. Why is it that duelists often find such difficulty 
to screw their courage to the sticking point, and ex- 
hibit such woe-begone visages on the field of battle ? 
Why so many wild and random shots ? 

But it is not the lack of physical courage for which we 
contend. The duelist lacks moral courage. He fights 
because he is afraid of public sentiment — afraid of being 
called a coward ; he stands in awe of the sneers of the 
ungodly multitude. Who is the truly brave ? He who 
conquers his corrupt passions. He who stems manfully 



64 DUELING IN VICKSBUKG. 

the torrent of depraved public sentiment. He who dares 
to do what he knows to be right, and dares to abstain 
from what he knows to be wrong. But mart that little 
pusillanimous soul, violating his conscience, lest for- 
sooth he may be called a coward — thus proving himself 
to be the very thing he would not have the world to 
think him ! 

7. Dueling, if it terminate fatally, damns the soul. 
" No murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." 

In the case of suicide we may hope there was insan- 
ity. In the case of execution for murder, we may see 
previous exhibitions of genuine repentance. But what 
is our hope of him, who falls in the very act of defying 
the authority of the great Jehovah — dies a murderer — 
dies and goes to judgment — with blood upon his soul! 

They turn'd him on his back ; his breast 
And brow were stain'd with gore and dust 
And through his lips the life-blood oozed, 
From its deep veins so lately loosed ; 
But in his pulse there was no throb, 
Nor on his lips one dying sob ; 
Sigh, nor word, nor struggling breath 
Heralded his way to death : 
Ere his very thought could pray, 
Unanel'd he pass'd away, 
Without a hope from mercy's aid — 
To the last a renegade. 

8. Dueling is a most unjust and disproportioned code 
of iniquity. It inflicts the very same degree of punish- 
ment upon all offences indiscriminately. Death for a 
thoughtless word ; and death for a deliberate act. Yea, 
it is a complete system of bullying. See with what in- 
stinctive sagacity this trained blood-hound selects his 
victim — always, if he can, insulting some one over whom 
he knows he has some advantage ; and then dogging 
him from place to place to seek his blood. Oh, the 



DUELING IN VICKSBUKG. 65 

horrors of this bloody code of honor ; trampling with 
fiendish cruelty upon all the sacred feelings of the 
heart; stained with the blood of statesmen, fathers, 
husbands ; revelling in the groans of widows, the wail 
of orphans, the shrieks of sisters, lovers, friends ! 

" Is there not some chosen curse, 

Some hidden thunder in the stores of heaven, 
Red with uncommon wrath, to blast the man 
Who gains his honor from the blood of souls?** 

9. Dueling is condemned by the very confessions of 
duelists themselves. What bitter groans and regrets 
fell from the lips of Hamilton and Decatur ! Observe 
the subsequent life and conduct of a successful duelist. 
Did you ever know such a man to be happy ? Is he not 
pre-eminently miserable ? afraid of being alone ; plung- 
ing into one crime to avoid the reflection of another ; 
drowning conscience in the intoxicating cup ; and often 
becoming the victim of derangement. Then how con- 
science thunders and remorse goads ; and the grim and 
gory ghost of the murdered one haunts him in his 
dreams! Oh, could he but drink of some oblivious 
stream and forget the past — forget that once he opened 
the fountain of the orphan's tears, and broke the widow's 
heart! But no, he cannot. Eternal justice will not 
suffer it. Oh! duelist, the remembrance of your deeds 
must follow you. Conscience will interpret everything 
into an accusation. When men fasten their eyes upon 
you, you will think they remember the man you mur- 
dered. 

When men stand in groups and speak in whispers, 
you will imagine they are talking about you. Every 
work of God, and every deed of man will be to you an 
accuser. Oh, the horrors of blood-guiltiness ! How it 
clings like a hungry vulture to the guilty soul ! . 



QQ DUELING IN YICKSBUKG. 

" Though thy slumbers may he deep, 
Yet thy spirit shall not sleep, 
There are shades that will not vanish, 
There are thoughts thou canst not banish ; 
By a power to thee unknown, 
Thou canst never be alone. 
By thy delight in others' pain, 
By thy brotherhood of Cain, 
I call upon thee and compel, 
Thyself to be thy proper hell." 

10. Dueling is subversive of all law and government. 
It saps the very foundations of civilized society; for it 
usurps the highest prerogatives of a nation : the right 
of taking away human life. The duelist takes upon 
himself the adjudication of his own wrongs, and thus 
lends his influence to resolve society into its original 
elements. All the laws of God and man must give way, 
while this man adjusts his quarrels. He must have the 
whole field of social, civil, and domestic relations sub- 
ject to his fury. What though his enemy be a citizen 
charged with duty to the State ; or a representative en- 
trusted with the interest of his constituents ; or a friend 
gladdening many a social circle; or a son sustaining 
and blessing fond and white-haired parents; or a hus- 
band cherishing a devoted, faithful wife; or a father, 
surrounded by affectionate, helpless children ; what 
though he be all these and more — the claim of the 
duelist for his blood, on account of some unguarded or 
disrespectful word, is paramount to every other. God, 
and law, and nature, with all their sacredness, must be 
despised and trampled under foot, while this incarna- 
tion of ferocity gnashes his teeth, and gluts his maw, 
and quenches his fevered thirst for blood. And if he 
may act thus, why not his neighbor ? 

For what is right in one man, cannot be wrong in 
another. If you have a right to adjudicate your own 



DUELING IN VICKSBUKG. 67 

quarrels, so have I. If men have, so have boys. And 
if you may kill your fellow-man for a word, why not for 
a deed ? why not for a malicious prosecution, for dis- 
turbing your slumbers by a midnight riot, for bringing 
a contagious disease into your neighborhood and en- 
dangering the lives of your family ? Oh, the long train 
of cause which follow in the train of this bloody god of 
honor ! Every day our ears are made to tingle by tales 
of anarchy and violence, the brandishing of knives and 
pistols, the deeds of desperadoes and cut-throats, and all 
from what cause? Dueling is the cause of it. 

Let us now briefly hear and answer some of the argu- 
ments of the duelist. 

The duelist says that dueling, notwithstanding all 
that has been said against it, is necessary " as giving a 
man a passport among gentlemen." What a cheap way 
of making a gentleman! But are duelists more of 
gentlemen than their neighbors ? Are they more hon- 
orable in their dealings, more punctual in the payment 
of their debts, and more attentive to all the courtesies 
of life than other men ? Who generally fight duels ? 
The blustering and the boisterous, bankrupts, gamblers, 
and upstarts — men often stained with a thousand 
crimes. 

The duelist contends that the practice "has a ten- 
dency to make men polite and cautious in their 
remarks." Oh, it is making us polite savages, accom- 
plished barbarians; causing men, from fear of some 
swaggering bully, to go armed to the teeth. Dueling, 
then, is producing the politeness of bandits and pirates. 
We are told that there are certain offences for which the 
law of the land provides no remedy, and, therefore, the 
duelist must fight. And what are these offences ? Are 
they not generally the silliest trifles, fit only for children 
in the nursery? And where is the duelist's magna- 



68 DUELING IN VICKSBURG. 

nimity, that he cannot pass over an insult ? A gentle- 
man will not insult you, a blackguard cannot. 

We are told that it is the only way of avoiding the 
imputation of cowardice. You say, " How shall I avoid 
the imputation of cowardice unless I fight ? " I would 
reply, if you do fight, how will you avoid the imputa- 
tion of cruelty to your friends ? of dishonesty to your 
creditors ? of guilt to your conscience and your God ? 
And if you fall, how will you avoid the damnation of 
hell? These are previous questions, which you are 
called upon to settle. Let your motto be, " I am not 
afraid to fight, but I am afraid to sin." And if you 
wish to show your courage, prosecute your challenger ; 
defend your person, if he assails you ; and help in voting 
out of office every officer who does not exert his au- 
thority in suppressing this vice, and in keeping the 
peace. 

But the duelist says: "My character — my precious 
character has been assailed, and I must defend it." 
And what a frail thing your character must be, that a 
little breath of calumny can tarnish it. If your char- 
acter -is such a brittle thing as this, you had better get 
a better character — a firmer, stronger character. But 
the duelist says again: "I cannot bear up under the 
imputations cast upon my honor. I would rather die 
than bear it." Where is the duelist's vaunted courage r 
I thought duelists were all brave and heroic men. But 
it seems that a little charge breaks them down. They 
have not half the courage of many women. Others 
have been called liars and cowards, and still have sur- 
vived the charge. And why may not these brave and 
fearless souls, by a few years of perseverance in the path 
of rectitude, silence every slander, and live down every 
imputation ? 

In conclusion, by all the solemn motives which can 



DUELING IN YICKSBUKG. 69 

operate upon a high-minded and generous community, 
I appeal to you — I call upon you as patriots, as heads 
of families, as lovers of peace, as friends of God — by all 
the sacredness of human life, by the law of your country, 
by the universal conscience of the civilized world; for 
the sake of our talented and chivalrous youth, on whom 
our country depends in war and in peace ; by the silence 
of the dead ; by the agony of surviving friends ; by the 
anguish of widows, and the loneliness of orphans ; by 
all the joys of heaven and hopeless misery of the lost, I 
adjure you to stay this foe to God and man. Let every 
freeman, and every man of moral courage, raise his voice 
in honest indignation; let the press speak out, and 
record every duel as a murder ; let the lodge expel every 
Mason who tights ; let candidates for office be required 
to abjure the bloody code ; let every association which 
has for its object the amelioration of society, or the pro- 
tection of property, frown upon the duelist, and drive 
him forth, a second Cain, with the brand of guilt burn- 
ing on his brow — the stigma of murder fixed upon his 
name. 



THE DIGNITY 



MINISTERIAL OFFICE. 



Preached at the installation of Rev. J. J. Read, of Houston Church, Dec. 10, 1873. 



" I magnify mine office" — Romans 11 : 13. No man 
ever entertained a more exalted conception of the dig- 
nity of his office, than did the apostle Paul. With an 
intellect refined by all the culture of the age, with pros- 
pects of worldly eminence unsurpassed by any of his 
cotemporaries, he made of them a most willing sacrifice. 
Yea, doubtless he counted all things but loss that he 
might win Christ, and become a herald of his great 
salvation to the Gentile world. Acting on the principle 
suggested by sound philosophy, that no one can excel 
in any profession or pursuit in life, who does not enter- 
tain for it a most exalted conception, and engage in its 
duties with an ardor bordering on enthusiasm, he com- 
menced a career of toil, of self-denial, and of suffering, 
of which the world cannot present a parallel. Hence, 
in every sacrifice he made, in every epistle he penned, 
in every church he founded, in every peril by land and 
sea which he endured — whether we view him standing 
before Felix, and reasoning with such overpowering 
majesty, as to cause that proud ruler to tremble, or as 
standing on Mars Hill, surrounded by the venerable 
court of the Areopagus, and there uttering terrible de- 



THE DIGNITY OF THE MINISTERIAL OFFICE. 71 

nnnciations against those heathen gods, whose mag- 
nificent temples reared their stately columns all around 
him — one grand conception filled his soul, one master 
passion ruled his life, and that was, to "magnify his 
office " — to feel himself and make all around him feel, 
that he was clad with a vocation of all others the most 
honorable and the most important, worthy of his loftiest 
ambition, his most fervent zeal, his most unbounded 
efforts. 

The text suggests the dignity and importance of the 
ministerial office. 

1. This is shown from the honor which God has 
placed upon it in all ages of the world, and under all 
dispensations of the Church. God has but rarely com- 
municated his will to earth, without the instrumental 
agency of man. Though sometimes he has made his 
purposes known by the medium of angels, by voices 
from the skies, by miracles, by solemn and significant 
ceremonies, by the peaceful rainbow, and the rumbling 
earthquake; yet it has ever been his chosen and most 
peculiar method to transmit his pleasure to earth by the 
lips of the living preacher, and the familiar and per- 
suasive tones of the human voice. And although this 
chosen medium of divine communication is designated 
in Scripture by different appellations — though the men 
thus called by God are denominated Priests, Prophets, 
Preachers, or Seers, — yet the honor and the office ha^e 
ever been substantially the same. Enoch, the seventh 
from Adam, was a prophet of the Lord, a public pro- 
' claimer of the will of heaven ; and at last, in public at- 
testation of his ministerial character and holy life, he 
was translated to heaven, that he should not see death. 
Noah also is denominated a preacher of righteousness ; 
and during that long term of years in which he was 
preparing an ark for the saving of his house, he was oc- 



72 THE DIGXETY OF THE MINISTERIAL OFFICE. 

cupied in publicly denouncing the sins of his time, and 
warning an ungodly world of its approaching doom. 
Abraham commanded his numerous household to serve 
the living God. Melchisedec was Prince of Salem, 
priest of the most high God, a glorious type of Christ, 
and published the glad news of future Gospel times. 
Moses was a most eminent publisher of heaven's will, 
deliverer, judge, ruler, and preacher — proclaimed the 
law of God from Mount Sinai, established the Jewish 
Church, and for forty years, his speech distilled like the 
dew upon .the assembled congregations of God's chosen 
people. And thus, from Moses and Aaron to Solomon, 
Prince of Judah, and Amos, a herdsman of Tekoa, the 
noblest and most honored of all Israel's sons were pub- 
lic proclaimers of heaven's will. Some of these preachers 
delivered their messages in camps, and in courts, in 
deserts and on housetops. Some spoke to crowds, and 
some to individual auditors, as the Lord commanded. 
Sometimes they appeared in public with dishevelled 
hair and torn garments — with leathern girdles around 
their loins, and weapons of war in their hands, and 
yokes of slavery on their necks, and in various other 
methods by which to startle and alarm the people. They 
wept, and fasted, and prayed, and prophesied, and 
preached. There were schools of the prophets, semina- 
ries for theological training, over which venerable men, 
such as Elisha, and Samuel, and others, presided. Be- 
hold Elijah, the Tishbite. He was an awful and soli- 
tary man. The divine afflatus came upon him, and 
tore him from the plow, and hurried him into the wil- 
derness, where, communing with God and nature, he 
becomes qualified to be a reprover of kings, a denouncer 
of woe to a degenerate people. Then suddenly, as a 
vision of the night, he bursts upon King Ahab, delivers 
his message, and as suddenly disappears. Where is he ? 



THE DIGNITY OF THE ]\HNISTEEIAL OFFICE. 73 

We find him shortly after in a poor widow's dwelling, 
multiplying her handful of meal and cruse of oil, and 
raising her dead son to life. Again we see him upon 
the top of Mount Carmel, challenging the priests of 
Baal (four hundred and fifty), and the prophets of the 
groyes (four hundred and fifty), to a public decision by 
fire, whether Baal be God, or Jehovah be God. Where 
is he now ? He is at the brook Kishon, a heaven-con- 
stituted homicide, slaying the false prophets, heaps 
upon heaps. Now we find him compelling clouds and 
rain from the brazen sky and running before Ahab's 
chariot, to the entrance of Jezreel. We follow him 
again, a fugitive from Jezebel's vengeance, fleeing into 
the wilderness ; fed by ravens ; lodged in a cave ; com- 
muning with God in the wind, in the earthquake, and 
the fire ; and as he hears the still, small voice, he wraps 
his face in his mantle and bows his head, and worships. 
Again he sallies forth into the busy populace, armed 
with new terror, and burning to utter new messages ; 
anoints Elisha as his successor ; appears once more as a 
ghost to king Ahab ; then turns his weary steps once 
more towards Jordan, with none but Elisha with him ; 
smites the waters with his mantle ; passes over dryshod ; 
meets the fiery chariot let down from heaven ; mounts 
the chariot like a king and conqueror ; is carried up- 
ward in a whirlwind ; drops his mantle ; while Elisha 
stands awe-struck and cries after him, " My father, my 
father, the chariot of Israel and the horseman thereof." 
(See Gillfillan). 

Pass now over a long sweep of years, and see what 
honor still clings to the heaven-constituted office of 
God's ministry, at a most important crisis in Jewish his- 
tory. The Babylonish captivity, covering a period of 
seventy years, is drawing to its close. The captives of 
Israel, who had long hung their, harps on the willows 
4 



74 THE DIGNITY OF THE MINISTERIAL OFFICE. 

that skirted the streams of Babylon, and wept in silence 
when they remembered their distant homes, now lift up 
their heads with joy. The edict of Cyrus has gone 
forth — "Jerusalem shall be rebuilt — her altars re-es- 
tablished. Eeturn, ye ransomed people, home." Then, 
at the grand re-organization of state and temple, behold 
God calling into prominent view his own chosen servants 
to do his own chosen work. What moral sublimity 
clusters around the person of Ezra, as, on the return of 
the people, he collects fifty thousand souls together near 
the water-gate, in the streets of Jerusalem. A pulpit 
of wood is erected above the heads of the immense 
mass, where, on elevated seats, on right and left, sat the 
Levites and elders of the people. As Ezra ascends the 
pulpit and opens the law, the whole mass, by a simulta- 
neous impulse, rise and stand. As he offers up prayer 
and praise to God the people bow their heads and wor- 
ship, with their faces to the ground ; and at the pray- 
er's close, with uplifted heads and hands, they respond, 
"Amen, amen." 

Then the sermon begins — and what a sermon! For, 
as the preacher proceeds, every eye becomes a fountain 
of tears ; and the elders weep ; and the Levites weep ; 
and all the people weep. And toward noon the weeping 
became so excessive and exhausting that the preacher 
and Levites had to restrain them. And in obedience to 
these wise and holy men, fifty thousand hearts are 
calmed in a moment, and they disperse in peace. Plato 
was alive at this very time, teaching cold philosophy to 
cold academies. But what was Plato, and what was 
Xenophon, and what was Demosthenes, in comparison 
with Ezra preaching at the water-gate, in the streets of 
Jerusalem ? 

From this period to the Christian era, public preach- 
ing was universal ; synagogues were multiplied ; vast 



THE DIGNITY OF THE MINISTEKIAL OFFICE. 75 

numbers attended ; and elders and preachers were ap- 
pointed for the purpose of order and instruction. At 
last "came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilder- 
ness of Judea, and saying, repent ye ; for the kingdom 
of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken 
of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of oue cry- 
ing in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, 
make his paths straight. And the same John had his 
raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his 
loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then 
went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the 
region round about Jordan. And were baptized of him 
in Jordan, confessing their sins." 

But this bright "morning star" soon faded away be- 
fore the rising splendor of the " glorious sun of right- 
eousness," who spake as never man spake, and suffered 
as never man suffered, and died as never man died, and 
rose as never man rose; and forty days after his resur- 
rection, led his disciples out as far as to Bethany, where 
he uttered his great commission : " Go ye into all the 
world and preach the Gospel to every creature ; he that 
believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that be- 
lieveth not shall be damned." 

" He spake and light shone round Ms head, 
On a bright cloud to heaven he rode ; 
They to the farthest nations spread 
The faith of their ascending Lord. " 

2. The great dignity and honor of the ministerial 
office is shadowed forth by the many names and appella- 
tions by which it is designated in Holy Scripture. 
There is not an honorable epithet or title applied to oc- 
cupations of distinction among men which is not used 
to illustrate the office of the ministry. Is the Church 
represented in Scripture under the similitude of a vine- 
yard, ministers are the laborers toiling in its culture. 



7b THE DIGNITY OF THE MINISTERIAL OFFICE. 

Is the church called a city, ministers are the watchmen 
stationed on its walls, to descry danger from afar and 
sound the alarm. Is the Church a sheepfold, they are 
the shepherds, guarding and feeding the flock. Is she 
a building, rising in fair proportions, eventually to be 
polished after the similitude of a palace, they are the 
builders rearing the gigantic and beauteous structure. 
Is Zion an army with banners, they are the standard- 
bearers. Is this world a revolted province of God's em- 
pire, they are the ambassadors, sent forth to adjust the 
claims of heaven's court and beseech men, in Christ's 
stead, to become reconciled to God. Is the Church on 
earth an object upon which the ascending Saviour 
wishes to bestow the richest boon, ministers are the pre- 
cious donation. "Wherefore when he ascended up on 
high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 
And he gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets ; and 
some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and teachers ; for 
the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the minis- 
try, for the edifying of the body of Christ : till we all 
come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of 
the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure 
of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Would the en- 
raptured Isaiah depict the future glories of the universal 
church, ministers form a prominent object in the glow- 
ing picture : " How beautiful upon the mountains are 
the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that pub- 
lisheth peace ; that bringeth good tidings of good, that 
publisheth salvation ; that saith unto Zion, Thy God 
reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with 
the voice together shall they sing; for they stall see eye 
to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion." 

3. The ministerial office assumes an aspect of vast 
dignity because of its rich fruits — its countless and 
transcendent blessings. Pen cannot recount, tongue 



THE DIGNITY OF THE MTNISTEBIAL OFFICE. 77 

cannot utter, history will never adequately record the 
blessings which accompany and flow from the estab- 
lishment of the Gospel ministry — diffusing themselves 
in ten thousand channels, over the Church and the 
world, over religion and science, over refinement and 
laws. Since the days of Christ and his inspired apos- 
tles, the voice of the living preacher has been the method 
the most conspicuous and the most honored of God in 
propagating the truth and conserving the world. For 
ever since that period, the chief function of the ministry 
consists in preaching, accompanied with prayer and the 
administration of the ordinances. There are no suc- 
cessors of the Jewish priests — there are no successors of 
the twelve apostles. The ministry now hath no sacer- 
dotal or apostolic character. There are no lords over 
God's heritage. All God's ministers are equal. All are 
bishops, and all are brethren ; and Christ alone is Head, 
and Christ alone is King. And in compensation for the 
withdrawal from the world of miraculous gifts, pro- 
phetic tongues, apostolic pens, and angels' visits, God 
has concentrated the essence of all former honors and 
offices upon the Christian ministy. Yea, there are clear 
intimations in Holy Scripture of God's design to cir- 
cumscribe great spiritual blessings within its immediate 
range. " How, then (saith the apostle), shall they call 
on him in whom they have not believed ; and how shall 
they believe in him of whom they have not heard ; and 
how shall they hear without a preacher ; and how shall 
they preach except they be sent." " So faith cometh 
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." As true 
as God does not warm men without fire, nor nourish 
men without food, nor drown men without water, just 
so sure does he not usually convert men without preach- 
ing. Though there ever have been, and ever will be, 
cases of sincere conversion without the public preaching 



78 THE DIGNITY OF THE MINISTERIAL OFFICE. 

of the Gospel, yet they are of rare occurrence — excep- 
tions to God's great rule. " The pulpit 

" Must stand acknowledged while the world shall stand, 
The most important and effectual guard, 
Support and ornament of virtue's cause." 

What myriads of sacred influences and associations 
cluster around the pulpit, calculated to enhance its im- 
portance as a moral power. There is a vast element for 
good in having a class of men expressly set apart to 
instruct the people in holy things — with minds stored 
with learning — with hearts warm with love — with lips 
eloquent with truth — whose themes are divine — whose 
topics are the whole range of Bible facts — and whose 
arguments and motives are drawn from life and from 
death, from time and eternity. Look also at the influ- 
ence of numbers, the power of sympathy, the expression 
of the human eye, the tones of the human voice, the 
whole force and magnetic power of human eloquence, 
calculated to awe, to thrill, to convince. Who can fully 
estimate the amount of knowledge communicated by 
the weekly ministrations of the Sanctuary, to a people 
many of whom are thoughtless and would never other- 
wise pause and reflect, and many are defective in educa- 
tion and incompetent to comprehend without a teacher ? 
Who can recount the blessings to neighborhoods and 
villages in the instruction given, the impressions pro- 
duced, the vices restrained, the public order upheld, and 
the peace, harmony, and friendships created by a regu- 
lar ministry ? And, on the other hand, what a melan- 
choly scene presents itself to the eye, where there is 
no Christian ministry — in Sabbaths desecrated, public 
morals lowered, youth unrestrained, the Bible unread, 
and God and eternity forgotten — vice stalking abroad 
unrebuked, and the large mass grasping after wealth and 



THE DIGNITY OF THE MINISTERIAL OFFICE. 79 

pleasure, and no one to raise his voice and warn them 
to nee from the wrath to come. 

And Oh, when we take a higher range — when we look 
npon the ministry as chiefly designed to proclaim to 
men a crucified Saviour, and qualify them for heaven, 
how the office swells in honor and dignity. And next 
to Jesus, the Lamb in the midst of the throne, the chief 
objects of interest and attraction in the upper state, will 
be those ministers of the Gospel, who have converted 
the largest number of souls to God. For "they that 
turn many to righteousness, shall shine as the stars 
forever and ever." Eaphael took a piece of canvas, of 
which the maker thought nothing, and the vendor 
thought nothing, and threw upon it his own immortal 
colors, and has made it live forever in the galleries of 
Europe. So a minister of the Gospel takes a human 
heart, for which the possessor cares but little, and re- 
traces upon it the lineaments of God's own image, to be 
exhibited forever in the galleries of heaven, as a trophy 
of redeeming grace. 

Turn for a moment more to earth, and look at the 
temporal achievements of the ministry. What hath 
God wrought by preaching? The Eoman empire was 
Christianized by preaching — the preaching of Paul and 
his noble companions. And though the " weapons of 
their warfare were not carnal, yet they were mighty 
through God, to the pulling down of strongholds." 
There sat Paganism at the capital, enthroned above the 
heads of kings and emperors — clad in all her dazzling 
splendor — with her magnificent temples — her gorgeous 
train of priests — her holy vestal virgins — her learned 
interpreters of the sibylline oracles — her gladiatorial 
shows — her vast amphitheatres, some of which could 
contain tens of thousands of spectators. But Paul 
preached, and institutions venerable by ages tottered 



SO THE DIGNITY OF THE MINISTEKIAL OFFICE. 

and fell. The glorious Keformation was chiefly brought 
about by preaching — the preaching of Luther. The 
Republic of Geneva, after which our own Republic was 
fashioned, was produced by preaching, the preaching of 
Calvin. The sturdy national character of Scotland was 
formed chiefly by the preaching of men like John Knox, 
of whom at his grave it was said, " There lies one who 
never feared the face of men." The present quiet of 
every New England village was laid far back in the 
preaching of the Stoddards, and the Mathers, and the 
, Edwardses. The present national existence of the Sand- 
wich Islands, whose people forty years ago were wild 
cannibals, is the fruit of the preaching of American 
missionaries. The foundations of the American Union 
were laid in the labors and toils of such men as George 
Fox, the Quaker, and John Wesley, the Methodist, 
and George Whitfield, the Calvinist, who traveled and 
preached from Massachusetts to Georgia, and aided 
the people to form religious and ecclesiastical affinities, 
before the cry to arms rung out from old Eaneuil 
Hall. Civil liberty, in the days of our fathers, was 
perched upon the standard of the cross, and will al- 
ways visit every land where that standard is unfurled. 
And the conversion of the nations to God, and the final 
and universal triumphs of the Gospel, will be effected 
mainly by the same heaven-ordained and heaven-owned 
method. For the Lord shall give the word ; great shall 
be the army of the publishers. "For an angel shall be 
seen, flying through the clouds of heaven, having the 
everlasting Gospel to preach to every nation." And as 
that blessed Gospel shall begin to walk abroad on its 
last triumph, thrones shall tremble, oracles shall grow 
dumb, and the brows of tyrants shall turn white as 
ashes. Then cities and palaces shall fling wide their 
gates at her advancing tread, and the great mass of 



THE DIGNITY OF THE MINISTERIAL OFFICE. 81 

suffering, sinful men shall bow their adoring heads as 
her sweet voice shall fall upon their ear. 

1. In view of all that has been said, it is expedient 
that there should be a much more exalted appreciation 
of the ministerial office. It should be magnified above 
all other callings. Is he deemed great who founds em- 
pires, gains victories, amasses wealth, or glitters in stars 
and coronets — whose praises live in history, and whose 
name is engraven on marble ? How much more hon- 
orable, and how much more deserving of gratitude, 
should they be deemed who ameliorate the hearts of 
men, subdue passions, found churches, form public 
morals, and produce effects on character and conduct 
that shall last forever. 

2. We also see, from this subject, the propriety of set- 
ting apart a distinct class of men to the ministerial work. 
If the ministry be of divine appointment, honored of 
God, magnified of Paul, filled by Christ, surely not 
every one is competent to enter it, and none should 
enter upon it, but he that is " called of God, as was 
Aaron" — called by the Church, called by his own breth- 
ren, called by the Spirit, called by his own heart, glow- 
ing with love for souls, and appropriating the words of 
the Apostle, " for necessity is laid upon me, yea, woe is 
me if I preach not the Gospel." And when such a one 
has assumed the ministry, he should never desert it. He 
should wear out in it, and become every day more and 
more a centre of influence, and a saver of life unto life 
to immortal souls. Alas for those who do not thus 
magnify their office. Woe to those who degrade the 
ministry— detract from its heavenly dignity by pervert- 
ing it to secular purposes, and " steal the livery of the 
court of heaven to serve the devil in." Among such we 
include sectarian preachers, poetical preachers, sensa- 
tional preachers, political preachers, fanatical preachers. 



82 THE DIGNITY OF THE MINISTERIAL OFFICE. . 

3. Contemplate the elevated position of our Church 
in its high appreciation of the dignity and sacredness 
of the office, in permitting none to enter it but men of 
piety and learning, that the ark of the Lord be not car- 
ried by inefficient or unholy hands. Hence the honor- 
able distinction of our Zion in her zeal in educating the 
young, in founding schools and colleges, and furnishing 
the world with a learned ministry. 

4. You here learn the duty of ,the people to provide 
for the temporal wants of the ministry. If we minister 
to you in spiritual things, is it not a small matter that 
you should contribute to us of your temporal things? 
Is not the laborer worthy of his hire ? Should not they 
who serve at the altar, live of the altar ? And is not 
that church most criminally remiss in her duty to 
herself and her head, which expects of her ministry 
constant services and elevated mental toil, but which 
extends to them a scanty and niggard support, expect- 
ing men to be given to hospitality and devoted to study, 
as well as punctual in meeting their pecuniary obliga- 
tions, but whose worldly maintenance is inadequate or 
paid with reluctance. 

5. The views which we have advanced respecting the 
ministry, so far from begetting in the mind feelings of 
vain glory, are calulated to instill the deepest humility. 
When we recount our arduous duties, our severe trials, 
and our fearful responsibilities, we would cry out with 
the Apostle : " Who is sufficient for these things ? " Oh, 
brethren, " we are with you in weakness, and in fear, 
and in much trembling." And we would appeal to you 
in the language of the same Apostle, " Brethren, pray 
for us." Nothing will so much relieve us, nothing will 
so much encourage us, as your fervent prayers. For a 
prayerless people will always have a desponding minis- 
try ; while, on the other hand, the performance of this 



THE DIGNITY OF THE MINISTERIAL OFFICE. 83 

duty will lead to the performance of every other. They 
who pray for their pastor will necessarily loye him ; they 
will contribute to his worldly support; they will be 
careful of his reputation ; they will punctually wait on 
his ministry; they will receive with meekness the word 
of God from his lips, will grow up with him as heirs of 
the grace of life, and finally enter with him into the 
same eternal joy. 



HISTORY 

or THE 

PEESBTTERIAK CHURCH, 

HOUSTON, TEXAS. 



This church was organized on the 31st of March, 
1839, in the Senate Chamber of the Congress of the 
Republic of Texas, by Rev. William Y. Allen, after a 
sermon preached by him from Psalm cxxii., verse 6 : 
" Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper 
that love thee." 

The following preamble and resolutions were adopted 
as the basis of organization, viz. : 

"For the purpose of promoting Divine worship, and our 
mutual edification in the knowledge and practice of piety, we, 
whose names are hereunto subscribed, do agree to associate our- 
selves together as a Presbyterian Church upon the following 
principles, viz. : 

M 1st. We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testa- 
ments to be the Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith 
and practice. 

" 2d. We sinoerely adopt the Confession of Faith of the Pres- 
byterian Church in the United States of America as containing 
the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures. 

" 3d. We adopt the form of Government and Directory for 
worship as laid down in the Constitution of the Presbyterian 
Church in the United States of America." 

To the above agreement the following names were appended : 
A. B. Shelby, Marian Shelby, 

J. Wilson Copes, James Bailey, 

James Burke, Sarah Woodward, 

Isabella R. Parker, Jennett Smith, 

Edwin Belden, Harris G. Avery, 

Sophia B. Hodge. 



PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, HOUSTON, TEXAS. 85 

The organization was completed by the election of 
James Burke to the office of Kuling Elder. 

On the 14th of April, 1839, the sacrament of the 
Lord's Supper was administered to twenty-five com- 
municants. This was the first celebration of this sacra- 
ment in Houston, most probably the first in Texas. 

After organizing the church, Eev. W. Y. Allen con- 
tinued to minister to it until the spring of 1842, when 
he resigned and returned to Kentucky, and was suc- 
ceeded by 

REV. J. M. ATKINSON", 

then on a visit to Texas. He received a unanimous 
call to become pastor of the church. Finding his 
health unfitted him for the labors of the office, he de- 
clined the call, and left the State early in 1843, having 
served the church about one year. 

In the spring of 1843, application was made to the 
Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, 
in the United States, which commissioned the Eev. J. 
W. Miller as a missionary to this field. 

REV. J. W. MILLER 

arrived December, 1844, and entered on the discharge 
of his duties. He received a unanimous call to the pas- 
torate, and was installed November 21, 1847. His health 
failing, he resigned the charge in January, 1850, having 
been five years over the congregation, during which time 
seventy members were admitted to the church. 

REV. L. S. GIBSON, 

being in the city, received a unanimous call from the 
church and congregation. His health failed under two 
severe bilious attacks, in 1850 and 1851, which caused 
him to cease preaching. He died in Philadelphia, in 



86 HISTORY OF THE 

May, 1853, while in attendance on the General Assem- 
bly, as commissioner from the presbytery of Brazos. 

On December 31, 1851, an invitation to supply the 
pulpit for one year, was made to 

REV. ALEX. FAIRBAIRN". 

In 1853, he received a call for his services as pastor, 
and was installed in February of that year. He resigned 
his charge in December, 1854, and moved to Huntsville. 

REV. JEROME TWICHELL 

was installed as pastor of the church in April, 1855, and 
was lost on the "Nautilus," in the G-ulf, during the 
storm of August 10, 1856. 

REV. R, H. BTERS 

was called on June 20, 1857, and entered on his minis- 
tration in the following September. 

In November, 1859, he accepted the financial agency 
of Austin College, by which the pulpit again became 
vacant. He was succeeded by 

REV. THOS. CASTLETON", 

called in April, 1860, and installed April, 1861; he filled 
the pulpit during the greater part of the war. 

On October 25, 1862, the church, a frame building, 
fronting on Main-street, was destroyed by fire. Under 
the exertions of Mr. Castleton, plans were speedily ma- 
tured to replace it by a brick structure, which he was 
not permitted to see completed. In October, 1864, his 
relations with the church were dissolved by presbytery. 
In 1865 — with his wife — he embarked on the " Shibbo- 
leth " for New York, and is supposed to have been lost 
at sea, as that vessel was not heard of any more after 
leaving Galveston. 



PRESBYTEEIAN CHUECH, HOUSTON, TEXAS. 87 

After the fire, worship was conducted in the Court 
House, until it was taken for barracks, when Turner's 
Hall was obtained by 

REV. J. E. HUTCHISON, D. D., 

who preached every Sabbath morning until June, 1865, 
when the hall had to be given up. 

The New Building was dedicated on Sabbath, July 
7, 1867, by Eev. E. H. Byers, D.D., assisted by Kev. S. 
A. King and Mr. Moore. On April 1, 1868, 

EEV. WI. SOMEEVILLE 

was invited to supply the pulpit one year, when the 
regular services of the church, after a long interruption, 
were resumed. He was installed pastor of the church 
in May, 1869, and resigned in October, 1870. On Sep- 
tember, 1871, 

EEV. JNO. J. EEAD, 

a licentiate of the presbytery of Mississippi, received the 
unanimous call of the church and congregation to be- 
come pastor thereof, having accepted the same, he was 
dismissed to the care of the presbytery of Brazos. 

After having sustained a satisfactory examination, the 
presbytery proceeded on Sabbath, December 10, to or- 
dain him to the full work of the Gospel ministry, the 
Moderator, Eev. E. F. Bunting, D.D., presiding. The 
Eev. J. E. Hutchison, JD.D., was appointed to preach the 
Ordination Sermon ; Eev. J. W. Miller, D. D., to deliver 
a charge to the congregation, and Eev. E. F. Bunting, 
D. D., a charge to the pastor. 



THE SABBATH. 

Preached at Hempstead, Texas, October, 1869. 



u Remember the Sabbath day to keep it "holy" — Exo- 
dus 20 : 8. The observance of the Sabbath is essential 
to the spread of Christianity, and to its transmission 
from one age to another. The Sabbath is the centre of 
the system, the keystone of the arch. Without it, the 
Gospel would hare no opportunity of exerting its benign 
influences upon the masses, of giving forth, in public 
assemblies, its loud and solemn utterances of warning 
and instruction. For how could mankind retain a 
knowledge of the great doctrines of the Cross, unless 
they were plainly and publicly taught them ? And how 
could they be publicly taught them, unless there were a 
specific day on which, by common consent, they might 
assemble for the purpose? 

The necessity and importance, therefore, of the Sab- 
bath, as a day of religious instruction and meditation, 
the honor which.it confers on God, the peace and quiet 
which it brings to man, the rest it imparts to the body, 
the solemn pause it secures to all the secularities of life 
— these, with other most weighty considerations, com- 
bine in enforcing the command of the Decalogue, "Ke- 
member the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.'* 

It has, however, been contended by some that the 
Sabbath day is a Jewish institution, and being merely 
national and ceremonial in its character, is not of per- 
petual and universal obligation. But can it not be 



THE SABBATH. 89 

shown that the Sabbath was instituted long before the 
Jewish nation existed, and although incorporated into 
the civil and ecclesiastical polity of that people, it never 
exclusively belonged to them, but is binding, in all its 
force, upon the people of every country and every age ? 

Our first argument is drawn from its great antiquity. 
The Sabbath was instituted two thousand years before 
the Jewish nation existed. It is as old as the creation. 
It was given by God to the first man, Adam. It is then 
binding on us ; because Adam was a public character, 
and acted in a public capacity. Adam was not merely 
our great progenitor ; he was also our federal head and 
representative. Adam negotiated with the court of 
heaven, not only for himself, but for all his posterity. 
This is one of the plainest doctrines of the Bible. Con- 
sequently, according to the laws of imputation and 
representation, all Adam's acts become our acts, all 
Adam's institutions become our institutions. If, then, 
the institution of the Sabbath was observed by Adam, 
it must be observed by us, for the same reason that we 
observe the institution of marriage. 

Where, then, is the evidence that the Sabbath was 
known to our great representative ? It is found in the 
book of Genesis, second chapter, second and third verses : 
" On the seventh day God ended His work which He had 
made, and He rested on the seventh day from all His 
work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh 
day and sanctified it, because that on it He had rested 
from all His work which God created and made." Adam 
was created on the sixth day; the next day was the 
sacred day of rest. Hence the first rising sun which 
Adam ever saw, ushered in the hallowed rest of the 
new-born Sabbath. 

But we have other evidence that the Sabbath is as old 
as the creation. We find traces of its existence and 



90 THE SABBATH. 

partial observance in the history of every nation of 
antiquity, both Jewish and heathen. Begin with the 
history of the Jews in the wilderness, as they were jour- 
neying from Egypt to Palestine, and before they reached 
Mount Sinai. Observe how regularly they abstained 
from the gathering of manna, at the close of every sixth 
day, in order that they might rest on the seventh. 
Mark how familiarly Moses refers to the Sabbath in the 
giving of the ten commandments. He there takes for 
granted that the Jews knew of the Sabbath before the 
giving of the law on Sinai. For he says, "Remember 
the Sabbath," implying that it had been previously 
known. 

Now go further back into the history of the Jews, 
and you will still find proofs of the existence of the Sab- 
bath. Examine the history of Job, forty years previous 
to the giving of the law, and you will find familiar men- 
tion of the Sabbath. Go two hundred and fifty years 
further back, to the time of Jacob, and you will observe 
that he observed the Sabbath. Go one hundred and 
fifty years further back, to the time of Abraham, and 
you will find that he knew the Sabbath. Then go back 
four hundred and fifty years further, to the time of 
Noah, and you will perceive that he also observed the 
Sabbath. In this day, the Sabbath can be traced back 
to Adam. 

Now turn from the history of the Jews to the history 
of early heathen nations, and go back until all history 
is lost in fable or is merged in the Mosaic narrative. 
The Sabbath is mentioned by Homer, the father of 
G-reek poetry. He says, " The seventh day is the day 
on which all things were finished." It is referred to by 
Lineus, another early Grecian writer, who says, " The 
seventh day is an auspicious day, for it is the birthday 
of all things." It is mentioned by Philo, an early 



THE SABBATH. 91 

Egyptian writer. He asserts that "the Sabbath is a 
festival, not peculiar to any one country, but is common 
to all the world." Josephus, the Jewish historian, tells 
us that in his day " there was no city, either of Greeks 
or barbarians, where the obligation of the Sabbath was 
not known." And the learned Grotius declares " that 
the memory of the creation being performed in the 
seven days, was preserved not only among the Greeks 
and Italians, but also among the Celts and Indians, all 
of whom divided their time into weeks." Thus we find 
traces of the Sabbath among all the nations of antiquity. 

And now the important question presents itself: 
How did those early heathen nations acquire their 
knowledge of the Sabbath ? Whence could have arisen 
this universal practice of dividing time into weeks, and 
of showing such marked deference to the seventh day ? 
How happened it that people inhabiting different coun- 
tries, speaking different languages, and adhering to 
different religions, all agree in this one practice ? "Would 
their notions respecting astronomy have led them to 
such a division of time ? No ; their astronomical views 
would have led them to divide their time into months 
and days and years, but would never have suggested to 
them a division of time into weeks. Weeks are unnat- 
ural divisions of time, suggested by no revolutions of 
the heavenly bodies. Nor did the ancient heathen de- 
rive their knowledge of weeks from the Jews. For 
many of these nations existed before the Jews were em- 
bodied into a nation. Some of them never heard of the 
Jews, and some entertained for Jewish customs a very 
strong abhorrence. 

The only method, then, of accounting for the early 
and universal practice of dividing time into weeks, is 
that it was communicated by God to Adam in Paradise, 
as was the rite of marriage, handed down by tradition 



92 THE SABBATH. 

among the antediluvian patriarchs, then scattered, after 
the flood, among all the nations of the earth. 

We base the perpetual obligation of the Sabbath, not 
merely upon its institution in Paradise, its recognition 
among all the nations of antiquity, and its incorpora- 
tion into the Jewish economy, but mainly on the fact 
of its constituting a prominent part of the ten com- 
mandments. Hence, all who admit the universal and 
perpetual obligation of the Decalogue, must admit the 
equally binding nature of the Sabbath. 

For if the Sabbath was merely ceremonial, serving a 
temporary purpose, and then passing away, like other 
temporary rites of the old dispensation, why should it 
occupy such a prominent place in that code of laws 
designed by God to be binding on the whole human 
race ? Why is it found there at all ? Why select it 
from the number of the merely temporary ordinances 
of the ^Mosaic economy, and place it so conspicuously 
in the very centre of that eternal compendium of moral 
duties, given for the government of the whole world ? 
The fact of its being found where it is decides the ques- 
tion. And there is something in the peculiar position 
which this command occupies in the Decalogue, and the 
language in which it is couched, which renders it the 
most remarkable precept of the entire ten. It is the 
longest commandment. It is the most minute and 
specific in its language, carefully enumerating a large 
number of particulars. It is located in the very heart 
of the code, between the two tables of the law — the 
first embracing our duties to God, the second our duties 
to man. And because this precept partakes of the 
nature of both tables, and enjoins duties to both God 
and man, it is placed leticeen both. It is the golden 
clasp which binds the two tables together; and whoever 
would take it away, breaks the clasp and mars the 



THE SABBATH. 93 

whole. For he robs God of his worship and man of his 
rest. The fact, then, of the law of the Sabbath being 
found in the Decalogue, settles the question under dis- 
cussion. And mankind have no more right to violate 
or ignore its requirements, than they have to set aside 
the law respecting idolatry, or murder, or theft, or filial 
insubordination, or conjugal infidelity. 

Another weighty argument for the obligation of the 
Sabbath, is derived from considering the great design 
for which it was originally instituted. What was that 
design ? It was of the most beneficial nature. It was 
that man might have time to rest his body, improve his 
mind, and purify his heart ; that he might have suffi- 
cient respite from physical toil — sufficient leisure to 
w r orship God and prepare for eternity. Now, are not 
these uses of the Sabbath just as important now as they 
ever were, and, therefore, is not the observance of the 
Sabbath just as necessary ? Does not man require just 
as much time to rest his body, to improve his mind, to 
purify his heart, to serve his God, and to prepare for 
eternity, as he did in the juvenile ages ? It is the tes- 
timony of anatomists, that the constitutions of both 
man and beast absolutely require one-seventh portion 
of time for rest and relaxation, or else they will soon 
wear out. Behold, then, the wonderful adaptation of 
this part of the moral government of God, for the physic- 
al constitution of man. And if it was necessary that 
the ancient patriarchs and the other early inhabitants 
of the world, should have one-seventh portion of their 
time for rest and relaxation, is it not far more impor- 
tant that we should have the same rest ? The bodies of ' 
men and beasts now are not half so vigorous as they 
were in those early ages, and require more rest and 
more leisure. And the laborious employments of men 
now are far greater than they were then. For in those 



94 THE SABBATH. 

primeval days of simplicity, men had little else to do 
than to attend to their peaceful flocks, shoot the passing 
game, and drink the crystal stream. And still they 
needed a day of rest. How much more do we need it. 
Now, arguing from the design for which the Sabbath 
day was originally instituted, we may safely argue the 
necessity of its continuation and perpetuity. Does the 
cause for which it was originally given exist still ? then 
should not the day exist likewise ? So long as man's 
physical nature remains what it is ; so long as the soul 
retains its importance ; so long as man shall sweat and 
toil both in body and mind the larger portion of his 
time, just so long does he need the merciful provision 
of the Sabbath. If Adam in Paradise required the 
sacred day of rest, much more do his sinful descendants 
need it. Not, then, as punishment, but as a merciful 
condescension to our infirmities, has God said, " Ke- 
member the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy." 

The obligation to sanctify the Sabbath, in addition 
to what has been set forth in our former issues, receives 
still greater force by contemplating the great blessings 
and advantages resulting from its observance, and the 
sad results flowing from its desecration. In enumerat- 
ing these blessings both to soul and body, both to man 
as an individual and as a member of the social compact, 
both as a dweller on earth and as a candidate for heaven, 
where shall we begin, and where end ? 

By keeping the Sabbath, those who are compelled to 
toil during the week are permitted to rest and recruit 
their exhausted energies. Men of business and specu- 
lation are permitted to pause in their career of bargain- 
ing and sales, have time to reflect calmly and dispas- 
sionately, and are thus often held back from sudden 
bankruptcy or a too great love of money. Those also 
whose incessant occupations during the week prevent 



THE SABBATH. 95 

them from having access to books find time to read and 
improve their minds. Attention can be given to dress 
and cleanliness, and to the polite civilities of friends. 
People of all classes can assemble together in the house 
of God. The high and the low, the rich and the poor, 
meet together upon a perfect equality. They are taught 
to feel that they have a common God and a common 
Saviour ; a common origin — a common end. They are 
also instructed in these things in the best possible man- 
ner. For there is something in the presence of a crowd, 
in the power of sympathy, and in the thrilling tones of 
the human voice, which renders the public preaching 
of the gospel, and the songs and prayers of the sanctu- 
ary, the most effective means of impressing divine truth 
upon the hearts of men. They who are unable to 
read and improve themselves at home, can listen to the 
reading and reasoning of another. Impressions are 
thus made which are deep and lasting. A thousand 
conflicting passions are harmonized. The affections 
are weaned from earth and soar towards heaven. The 
pious are edified ; the ignorant are instructed ; the 
wicked are warned; the wavering are confirmed. A 
love for morality and order is diffused from heart to 
heart, and from family to family. The community is 
improved; intelligence is diffused; crimes are dimin- 
ished. A moral sentiment is spread all around, which 
forms a more effectual preservation of the liberties of 
the country than pikes and armies. Oh ! in view of 
such blessings, who ought not to love the Sabbath ? 
What patriot, what Christian, what lover of his own 
family, what friend of the poor, should not sanctify the 
Sabbath? 

But reverse this pleasing picture and view the result. 
Abolish the Sabbath, and you take away every one of 
the blessings we have enumerated, and you substitute a 



96 THE SABBATH. 

corresponding curse. Abolish the Sabbath, and you 
give the laboring class no stated time to rest, and the 
commercial class no regular period to pause in their 
career of worldliness. Abolish the Sabbath, and you 
place in its stead no other effectual method of instruct- 
ing the ignorant, of restraining the vicious, or of im- 
proving the manners of the masses without injuring their 
morals. In a word, take away the Sabbath, and you 
give us no other method of diffusing the blessings of 
Christianity. And if Christianity be not diffused, vir- 
tue, morality, and- liberty must soon bid farewell to the 
land. Nothing but the power of the Gospel can purify 
and save this nation. Nothing but this can preserve 
us from the effects of infidelity, of intemperance, of 
party- strife, and national pride. Our general intelli- 
gence, our growing wealth, our ardent patriotism, and 
our invincible courage cannot, of themselves, preserve 
us. They did not preserve Greece, or Rome, or France. 
Hence nothing but the Sabbath, as a means of incul- 
cating our holy religion, can preserve the fair temple 
of American liberty. Nothing but a phalanx of holy 
hearts clustering thick around the Sabbath, can pre- 
serve us from going down to the gloomy grave of 
nations. 

We have had an instance in modern times, of a whole 
nation deliberately abolishing the Sabbath, and what 
was the result ? No sooner had France blotted out this 
moral sun from her heavens, than the mighty God whose 
being she denied, and whose worship she ignored, stood 
aloof and gave her up ; and a scene of proscription and 
assassination and crime ensued, unparalleled in the an- * 
nals of the civilized world. Every moral and domestic 
tie was ruthlessly torn asunder. A brother's hand was 
deeply imbrued in a brother's blood. The tears of the 
lisping babe, the shrieks of the agonized mother, and 



THE SABBATH. 97 

the frantic cries of hoary and decrepit age, mingled with 
the demoniac shouts of an infuriated soldiery, dragging 
their victims to the guillotine. Yea, says one, it seemed 
as if the nation's knell had tolled, and the whole world 
was summoned to the funeral. In the city of Paris, 
there were in 1803 eight hundred and seven suicides 
and murders. Among the criminals executed, there 
were seven fathers who had poisoned their children, ten 
husbands who had murdered their wives, six wives who 
had poisoned their husbands — and fifteen children who 
had destroyed their parents ! Do then the Infidels of 
this land desire to have the scenes of revolutionary 
France re-enacted, let them abolish the Sabbath, and 
forthwith, from the vasty deep will come up the demons 
of blood. The Sabbath is the " cord by which God 
holds up the nation from the gulf that rolls beneath it." 
While, then, one strand of this cord after another is cut, 
what can prevent, when the last cord is severed, this 
mighty nation, like the massive rock on the mountain's 
cliff, from thundering down to ruin. Give up the Sab- 
bath — blot out that orb of day — suspend its blessed at- 
tractions — and the reign of chaos and old night will 
return. The waves of our unquiet sea will roll and 
dash, shipwrecking the hopes of patriots and the world. 
The elements around us may remain, and our gigantic 
mountains and rivers ; our miserable descendants may 
multiply and rot in moral darkness and putrefaction. 
But the American character and the American nation 
will go down into the same grave that entombs the Sab- 
bath — and our epitaph will be, " Here ended the nation 
that despised the laws of heaven, and gloried in their 
wisdom, wealth, and power." 

Be entreated then, to " Eemember the Sabbath-day to 
keep it holy." This is the day the Lord hath made. 
He calls the hours his own. Remember it, for it comes 
5 



98 THE SABBATH. 

to rest the weary laborer, to calm the fevered brow of 
the anxious merchant. Remember it, for it is the type 
of heaven — of that rest which remaineth for the people 
of God. Kemember it, for God wrote it with his own 
finger upon tables of stone, and proclaimed it, amid 
thunderings and lightning and earthquakes, from the 
summit of Mount Sinai. Kemember it, because of the 
awful judgments inflicted on those nations and individ- 
uals who have violated it — on rebellious Israel, on In- 
fidel France, when God thinned their families, wasted 
their treasures, and drenched their cities in blood. Ke- 
member it, because of the many terrible calamities which 
have come under your own observation in consequence 
of its violation — the carriage accident — the boat disas- 
ter — the faithless gun — the gay party of pleasure, which 
went out on the morning of God's holy day, but who 
never returned, or else were brought home mere man- 
gled corpses, monuments of the wrath of heaven. 

"We never, in the whole course of our recollection, met 
with a Christian friend who bore upon his character any 
evidence of the spirit's renovation, who did not keep 
holy the Sabbath. " We appeal to the memory of all 
the worthies who are now lying in their graves; we 
appeal to every one who reads these lines, and who car- 
ries in his bosom a recollection of a father's worth and 
a mother's piety, if, on the coming round of the seventh 
day, an air of peculiar sacredness did not spread itself 
over the mansion where he drew his first breath, and 
was taught, to lisp his infant hymn, and breathe his 
infant prayer. The Sabbath is still dear to him. He 
loves the quietness of the hallowed morn. He loves the 
church bell sound, which summons him to the house of 
Sprayer. He loves to join the chorus of devotion, and sit 
and listen to the voice of persuasion, which is lifted up 
in the hearing of the great congregation." 



A OHEISTMAS STOET. 

Preached at Baton Rouge, November 25, 1831. 



"Behold, living you good tidings of great joy, which 
shall be to all people" — Luke 2 : 10. The silence of mid- 
night reigns over Judea. The inhabitants of the city 
of Bethlehem are reposing in peaceful slumber, all save 
a few humble herdsmen upon a neighboring field. The 
notes of a shepherd's pipe float across the moonlit plain. 
Suddenly those notes are hushed; for music of a loftier 
strain — music such as is set and sung in heaven — comes 
along the breeze. A seraph's wing rustles in the sky, 
a seraph's dazzling form comes down, a seraph's voice 
proclaims the embassy, "Behold, I bring you good 
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For 
unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a 
Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And suddenly there 
was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, 
praising God, and saying, Glory to God. in the highest, 
and on earth peace, good will toward men." 

Oh, what emotions of rapture must have thrilled 
through those shepherds' hearts, as this announcement 
fell from the angel's lips ! " The predicted Messiah, the 
long-expected deliverer of the world, has He at last 
come ? That glorious Personage, the theme of many a 
poet's song, the burden of many a prophet's rapture, has 
He at last actually appeared ? And now no more shall 
the nations mourn ; no longer shall their ardent expec- 
tations be disappointed. The darkness of superstition 



100 A CHRISTMAS STORY. 

will now roll away ; the types will all be fulfilled ; the 
spirituality of a once sublime system of worship will be 
restored ; the blind shall see, the deaf hear, the lame 
man shall leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb 
sing; for the Lord whom we have long sought has 
come to his temple. Let us haste to the city, and wor- 
ship the heavenly stranger." 

Was this announcement of the incarnation an event 
of intense interest to the Jew, it is equally so to the 
Gentile. For hear its language : " Behold, I bring you 
good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." 
And all people have had reason so to view it. The 
assumption of human nature by the Son of God was 
the commencement of that chain of glorious events 
which received their consummation on Calvary, consti- 
tuting a scheme of redemption for sinners of every age 
and nation, forming a river of free grace, which has 
rolled and widened, and watered the earth ; upon whose 
sacred brink we are permitted to stand and drink and 
never die. Yea, must not the historian, in tracing all 
the improvements of modem society to their true cause, 
go directly back to him who was born in a manger in 
Bethlehem, and expired as a malefactor on the Cross ? 
For what else but his benign religion — the combined 
product of his incarnation, his example, his teachings^ 
and his death — has chauged the aspect of our world; 
communicating its kindly influences to every public 
and private department of life; working itself into the 
framework of civil states ; giving a tinge to the com- 
plexion of governments, to the temper and administra- 
tion of laws ; restraining the spirit of princes and the 
madness of the people ; softening the rigor of despotism ; 
blunting the edge of the sword, and spreading a vail of 
mercy over the horrors of modern warfare ? Its kindly 
influences have descended into families, improved every 



A CHBISTMAS STOEY. 101 

domestic endearment, given tenderness to the parent, 
humanity to the master, respect to superiors, to inferiors 
ease. And what is its influence on our prospects of a 
life to come ? It is all our dependence and all our 
hope. "When the soul is burdened under a sense of 
guilt, how readily it reverts to those awful scenes which 
occurred eighteen hundred years ago. There, while 
dwelling by a retrospective faith upon Bethlehem and 
Gethsemane and the Cross, the hard heart is softened 
into penitence and love. There death itself has lost its 
sting, and the soul, with a holy magnanimity, has borne 
up under the terrors of dissolution, and has sung old 
Simeon's song, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant de- 
part in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." 

Behold, then, we bring you good tidings of great joy, 
which shall be to all people. All people are benefited 
by his birth, all people are instructed by his life, all 
people are saved, if saved at all, by his death. The 
time of the advent was one of great joy. 

1. Christ became incarnate at a period in which the 
whole civilized world were expecting him. History 
asserts that not merely were the Jews at that time con- 
fidently looking for the promised Messiah, but also that 
a profound impression was pervading all civilized na- 
tions, that a glorious personal personage was about to 
arise to reform and bless the whole earth. Hence, as if 
by a common impulse, the nations had laid aside their 
bloody conflicts, and were reposing in unwonted har- 
mony. Wars had ceased. The temple of Janus at 
Rome was closed. The blessings of peace were enjoyed 
throughout the vast Roman empire. The wise men of 
Greece and Rome and Persia, impelled either from a 
secret impulse from heaven, or else from the influence 
of a wide-spread tradition, were all casting their anxious 
gaze to the land of Judea, as the place from which would 



102 A CHRISTMAS STORY. 

speedily issue the world's great deliverer. And thus we 
read, that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, 
in the days of Herod the king, there came wise men 
from the East to Jerusalem, saying, '-'Where is he that 
is born King of the Jews ? For we haye seen his star 
in the East, and are come to worship him." And 
guided by that mysterious star, they came to the place 
where the sleeping infant lay, and bowing down before 
him, they gave him their gold, their frankincense, and 
their niyrrh. 

2. The incarnation of Christ occurred at a time his 
presence was most needed. It is a historical fact, no less 
strange than true, that the period of the advent was a 
period of unprecedented moral darkness. The repose 
of the nations was the slumber of spiritual death. Not- 
withstanding Jerusalem had her temple, Greece her 
academic groves, and Rome her senate and her forum, 
and all three had their priests, their poets, and their 
orators, yet still a gloomy night of ignorance, supersti- 
tion, and vice, brooded over the earth. The Jewish 
Church had utterly lost her spirituality, and was repos- 
ing complacently on mere external ceremonies. The 
Pharisee, on the one hand, placed all religion in mere 
external morality. The Sadducee, on the other hand, 
destroyed all religion by denying the immortality of the 
soul. "Was such the condition of the Jews, what was 
the state of the Gentiles ? Darker still. The nations 
had sunk into the most abject ignorance on moral 
topics, and were calling on their wise men for light and 
knowledge, but all in vain. The speculations of human 
reason, the refinements of human philosophy, all the 
elegant accomplishments of the Augustan age, had 
utterly failed in elevating the morals and restraining 
the vices of men. Yea, their gods were hideous mon- 
sters, debauchery and crime. There was not a single 



A CHBISTMAS STORY. 103 

vice, in the dark catalogue of human enormities, which 
was not shamelessly perpetrated under the sanction of 
some one of those innumerable gods and goddesses 
before whose shrines the nations bowed. "The world 
by wisdom knew not God." Then it was clearly demon- 
strated that no attainments of poetry, eloquence, or 
science, however great, can supersede the necessity of 
divine revelation ; that a man may be affluent in all the 
riches of learning, and glittering in all the attractions 
of wit, and still need a teacher from heaven, a divine 
physician to heal his moral maladies, a supernatural 
light from the skies to dispel the darkness of his soul. 
Hence the declaration of a heathen writer of that day, 
that unless the gods sent down to earth a special mes- 
senger, the nations must wax worse and worse. Now, 
in view of these facts, I ask you, when was such a being 
as Jesus Christ more needed ? When was such a de- 
liverer more longed for ? And what was calculated to 
give more joy to the earth than the announcement of 
his incarnation ? 

3. The period of the incarnation was the best possi- 
ble period for the propagation of a new religion. Not 
merely did the world expect a Saviour — not merely did 
the debased state of the world absolutely need his pres- 
ence — but the condition of the nations at that time 
presented peculiar facilities for the spread of a new 
faith. The fullness of the time had come. There was 
the Greek language — the language of Christ and his 
apostles — the language of poetry and passion, spoken 
throughout the civilized world — standing ready to serve 
as a most happy vehicle for the spread of a new religion. 
Never had there been a period in which there was greater 
intercourse between the various nations of the earth. 
All the large cities w T ere filled with strangers. Mer- 
chants and philosophers were continually traveling from 



104 A CHRISTMAS STORY. 

city to city, in search of wealth and knowledge. Hence 
we read that when Peter stood up on the day of Pente- 
cost and preached his first sermon, he was heard hy the 
representatives of seventeen different nations — "Par- 
thians, and Medea, and Elamites, and the dwellers in 
Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, 
and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in 
the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Piorne, 
Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear 
them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. 
And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying 
one to another, "What meaneth this?" And returning 
to their distant homes, they spread the wondrous story. 
Oh what an auspicious era for the coming of our Lord! 
4. The time of the advent was the time accurately 
foretold by the prophets of the old dispensation. The 
seventy weeks of Daniel were now drawing to a close. 
The types and ceremonies — the slaughtering of sheep 
and of goats — all the solemn pomp of the Jewish wor- 
ship, were pointing in a manner not to be misunder- 
stood, to the speedy coming of the Lamb of G-od, who, 
by the sacrifice of himself upon the Cross, would take 
away the sins of the world. There are nearly two hun- 
dred prophecies in the Old Testament Scriptures, which 
clearly indicated the approaching advent. One prophet 
had predicted the. circumstances of his birth — another, 
the tribe from which he would spring — a third, the very 
month of his incarnation. Had he not then appeared 
at the specified time and place, the credit of the Old 
Testament as a divine Revelation would have been for- 
ever destroyed. But "behold we bring you good tidings 
of great joy;" for unto you was born in the city of 
David, a Saviour. By being so born, he has fulfilled the 
prophecies, abolished the sacrifices, broken down the 
middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile, and 



A CHRISTMAS STORY. 105 

has purchased everlasting salvation for men of every 
age, and tribe, and people. " Glory be to God in the 
highest, on earth peace, good will to men." In Christ 
* there is neither Jew nor Greek, Barbarian, Scythian, 
bond or free — but all are one, one Lord, one faith, one 
baptism, one church, and one heaven. 

5. We come now to the most important consideration 
which made the incarnation of Jesus a source of " great 
joy to all people." "Jesus was born in Bethlehem of 
Judea," in order that he might die upon the cross for 
the redemption of a lost world. Or, as St. Paul ex- 
presses it, "When the fullness of the time was come, 
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten 
Son, that whosoever believeth on him might not perish, 
but have everlasting life." No wonder that a multitude 
of the heavenly host came down and sung glory to God 
in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will to men. 
And why all this ? Why the awful mystery of the in- 
carnation ? Why must the second person in the God- 
head be wrapt in a veil of mortal flesh ? Why born of 
a woman and cradled in a manger ? 

Man is placed under the moral government of God. 
No moral government can exist without law. No law 
has any force without penalty. Penalties are useless, 
unless they are executed. Must God reward the right- 
eous, when they obey ? Then, for the same reason, he 
is bound to punish the wicked when they transgress. 
Could the honor of his law, could the stability of his 
throne, could the well-being of the universe for one 
moment be maintained, were he to permit the guilty to 
escape ? Who then have incurred the penalty ? Man. 
Who can remove the penalty ? Christ. " Christ hath 
redeemed us from the curse of the law, having been 
made a curse for us." He bore the load. He endured 
the penalty. He paid down the ransom. He released 



106 A CHRISTMAS STOBY. 

the captive. He redeemed the slave. His wounds are 
our healing — his groans, our songs — his death, our life — 
his crown of thorns, our crown of glory. But could not 
Christ achieve this great work, without becoming in- 
carnate? No. Human nature had sinned. Hence, 
human nature must suffer. For, " without shedding of 
blood, there is no remission." Blood, then, must first 
be possessed, before blood could be shed. Hence the 
absolute necessity, that the Eedeemer should become 
man — man to set us an example, man to enable him to 
sympathize with humanity, man to suffer death in the 
room of the guilty. Equally essential was it, that He 
should be God; otherwise, his sufferings and death, 
however agonizing, could have had nothing meritori- 
ous, no more than the death of the martyrs. Christ 
must needs be man, to qualify him to suffer ; he must 
needs be God, to impart to his sufferings infinite merit. 
And by virtue of his being both God and man, he of all 
beings in heaven and earth, is qualified to be the Ee- 
deemer of the world. T3y the union of the two natures, 
the blood of Calvary becomes efficacious, and mercy 
flows down to a lost race. "Behold the man! How 
glorious He." 

Are you guilty ? "We bring you good tidings ; Christ 
hath delivered us from the curse of the law. Are you 
tempted ? Here are good tidings. " He is able to suc- 
cor them that are tempted." 

Are you bowed down under the troubles of life? 
Hear him saying, " Come unto me all ye that labor and 
are heavy laden." 

Are ye poor ? He is the poor man's friend. Are you 
afraid to die? He hath abolished death, and become 
the conqueror of the king of terrors. Finally, to one 
and to all,' we bring good news. In the effects of his 
wonderful incarnation, you are all interested — of the 



A CHEISTMAS STOEY. 107 

fruits of his death, you are all invited to partake. Be- 
cause he became man, you may become kings and priests 
unto God. You may, however, neglect the offer — refuse 
the message — turn a deaf ear to tidings that made all 
heaven glad; the time will come when this strange in- 
difference will be over. " Pleasure will fold her wing, 
and friend and lover shall to the embraces of the worm 
have gone." The moment you enter eternity, how 
changed the scene. The love of Christ, the infinite 
felicity of being saved, the unspeakable misery of being 
lost, will occupy the vast capacities of the immortal 
soul. 



THE HOPE OE THE NATION. 

Preached in Houston, Dec. 16, 1864, by request of President Davis. 



"For the nation and kingdom that will not serve 
thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly 
wasted." — Isaiah 60 : 12. Nations exist only in this life. 
Hence, they receive all their rewards and all their pun- 
ishments here. And they are rewarded or punished in 
proportion to the degree in which they obey or trans- 
gress the laws of Heaven. It is a truth susceptible of 
the clearest moral demonstration that righteousness 
exalteth a nation as well as an individual, and that 
" Godliness is profitable for all things, having the prom- 
ise of the life that now is, and that which is to coine." 
If the Gospel were permitted to exert its proper influ- 
ence upon the kingdoms of the world, the highest de- 
gree of temporal happiness and prosperity would be the 
sure result. Civil liberty is perched upon the standard 
of the Cross, and will visit every land where that stand- 
ard is unfurled. In the religion of the Bible we have 
an unfailing antidote against all those moral maladies 
which in past ages have brought ruin on nations. The 
Gospel proposes to change the hearts of men — to soften 
their tempers — to impart a holy direction to the govern- 
ing purposes of the soul — thus leading men to be moral 
and virtuous from principle; not from constraint, but 
from choice — not from the dread of temporal punish- 
ments, but from a cheerful preference. The Gospel is 
opposed to ambition, the bane of empires. It forbids 



THE HOPE OF THE NATION. 109 

revenge, the usual cause of national conflicts. It con- 
demns avarice, the prolific parent of oppression, dishon- 
esty, and fraud. It denounces idleness, and declares 
that " if a man will not work, neither shall he eat." It 
imposes a solemn restriction on the animal appetites, 
"teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly 
lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in 
this present world," thus cutting off ten thousand 
avenues to misery, violence, and blood. The Gospel 
inculcates the fear of an invisible but omnipotent Jeho- 
vah, and thus leads men to be virtuous in secret — to 
reverence the obligation of oaths, upon the observance 
of which property, reputation, and life so frequently 
depend. It likewise teaches us to love our country — to 
defend our rights — to obey magistrates — to pity and 
help the poor. It elevates the female sex, and gives 
woman her proper rank in the social state. It proclaims 
the original equality of the human race, and thus frowns 
upon the arrogant claims of kings — the divine right of 
the few to rule the many, of the strong to oppress the 
weak. 

Are such some of the pure and elevating principles 
of our holy religion, all must at once perceive that their 
belief and practice would exalt the nations of the earth, 
and make them great, glorious, and free. And there- 
fore, must not every community in which these princi- 
ples are unknown be poor and abject— a prey to misrule 
and faction, and, in its gradual but sure decline, soon ex- 
hibit a melancholy illustration of the truth of the text, 
that " the nation and kingdom that will not serve God 
shall perish ; yea those nations shall be utterly wasted? " 

But if it be true that the belief and practice of the 
precepts of the Gospel can alone make nations great, 
the remark applies with most peculiar force to a country 
like ours. Here the people govern themselves. All 



110 THE HOPE OF THE NATION. 

authority and all power emanates from them. Hence 
if the people be not enlightened and virtuous, our ex- 
periment of self-government must assuredly fail. If the 
fountain be impure, the streams will be polluted, and 
will form a river of death, which will desolate and curse 
our fair inheritance. The waves of our unquiet sea will 
rise and swell as high as our mountains, and shipwreck 
the hopes of patriots and the world. For who, then, 
can rally the nation and roll back the burning tide ? 
Who then can guide the bark of liberty, amid the raging 
and the roaring of such a sea of fire ? 

It is idle to say that the enforcement of our wise and 
equitable laws will, without the moral power of the 
Gospel, ensure our continued prosperity. How can laws 
bind the heart and purify the motives ? How can laivs 
repress selfishness, or curb ambition, or eradicate volup- 
tuousness and pride ? The worst enemies to civil liberty 
are offenses which human laws can never reach. Hu- 
man ]aws are restricted to the government of external 
actions, and only such actions as are grossly wrong, and 
which can be proved by competent witnesses ; while the 
great mainsprings of vice and corruption, lying deep 
within the soul, remain unreached and unchecked. 
There must then be a profound reverence for Almighty 
God resting upon the spirit — an inward love of virtue — 
a solemn regard to the retributions of eternity, or crime 
and passion will rage in defiance of all law. The 
streams of corruption, originating in the recesses of the 
unsanctified heart, will rise and swell until they burst 
through every barrier, and our glory and our country 
will sink down amid the vortex of revolutions. Nations 
are like volcanoes ; they contain within their own bow- 
els the seeds of ruin ; and if God takes off his hand 
they will explode, scattering far and wide the fragments 
of their greatness. " Manners," says Chatham, " have 



THE HOPE OF THE NATION. Ill 

more influence than laws." Public sentiment, especially 
in a country like ours, is superior to all legislation. For 
it matters not how good and wholesome may be our 
written code, it will remain forever a dead letter if there 
be not public virtue in the mass of the people, sufficient 
to sustain the officers in its execution. 

Now, can the diffusion of knowledge, the spread of 
education, of itself, perpetuate our free institutions? 
There are no moral qualities in intellect. A man may 
be glittering in all the attractions of wit, and rich in all 
the gifts of fancy, and still have within him the heart 
of a demon. Science is a mere instrument which may 
be turned either to good or bad account. So that, 
while knowledge does not of itself corrupt, it does not 
of itself purify. History lifts her venerable voice and 
declares that those countries and ages that have been 
most distinguished for the arts and sciences, have also 
been most conspicuous for voluptuousness and crime, 
thus showing that the era of moral dissolution may 
follow close upon that of the highest intellectual cul- 
ture. At no period were scientific pursuits more pop- 
ular in France than during her terrible revolution, 
when blood flowed in streams down the streets of her 
capital, and crimes, enough to make devils blush, were 
daily perpetrated under the sacred name of Liberty. 

Nor can national wealth, of itself, preserve the liber- 
ties of our country. From the manner in which our 
politicians and public men talk, it is evident that they 
look upon riches as the chief element of national great- 
ness. Hen'ce their frequent and noisy harangues upon 
the currency, the taxes, the revenues, and trade. But his- 
tory declares that national opulence has always been del- 
eterious to national virtue — cooling the patriot's ardor, 
impairing moral principle, weakening both mind and 
body, and disqualifying men to defend their country. 



112 THE HOPE OF THE NATION. 

The history of our present war shows that the poor have 
been more prompt to rush to the conflict than the rich. 
All, therefore, that is done to accumulate wealth and 
stimulate the nation's thirst for gain, is only providing 
fuel to the flames which will consume us. The greater 
our wealth, the more speedy our downfall, unless the 
power of the Gospel come to the rescue, and teach the 
people self-denial, curb their avarice, inculcate prin- 
ciples of honesty, and hold up the claims of God and of 
the soul. Where is Babylon, and Athens, and Rome, 
those ancient depositories of wealth ? Their pomp has 
gone down to the grave, and the noise of their viols has 
ceased; and from their gray ruins comes up a voice 
which seems to say : " Let not the wise man glory in 
his wisdom ; let not the mighty man glory in his might ; 
let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him 
that glorieth, glory in the Lord/' " For the nation and 
kingdom that will not serve God shall perish ; yea, those 
nations shall be utterly wasted." 

Let it then be proclaimed aloud this day, throughout 
the whole length aud breadth of the land, that nothing 
but an enlightened public sentiment, under the control 
of religious principle, can maintain the ascendency over 
corruption, and preserve our country. Tell us not of 
our wise legislation, of our patriotism, and of our armies. 
Tell us not that in a nation like ours, wealth is power, 
or that talent is power, or that knowledge is power, or 
that law is power, or that bayonets are power. There 
is a declaration that must be placed, above them all, viz. : 
Truth is power. Wealth cannot purchase it, talent can- 
not refute it, knowledge cannot overreach it, laws can- 
not silence it, bayonets cannot crush it. Fling it into 
the most tremendous billows of popular commotion, 
cast it into the seven-fold heated furnace of the tyrant's 
wrath, it will mount aloft like the ark on the waves of 



THE HOPE OF THE NATION. 113 

the deluge ; it will walk like the Son of God, untouched 
amid the burning fiery furnace. Truth — evangelic 
truth ; a profound reverence for Almighty God ; a deep 
sense of personal responsibility, pervading all classes 
from the lowest to the most exalted, it is this (in con- 
junction with education and the love of liberty) which 
will preserve our country, and make it a blessing to our 
descendants and the world. 

And now, in view of all that has been said, let us 
here pause, and ask ourselves this solemn question: 
What are we, as a nation, doing to uphold and spread 
these great principles, which are essential to the per- 
petuity of our free institutions ? How are we acting 
in view of the fact that " righteousness exalteth a na- 
tion," and that the nation and kingdom that will not 
serve God, shall perish ? Have we no national sins to 
mourn over ? Are there no indications among us of an 
alarming degeneracy ? Is there nothing in the signs of 
the times forcing the conviction upon the Christian 
patriot's heart, that we, as a people, are forsaking the 
God of our fathers, and are cherishing in our bosom 
the seeds of national ruin ? Bear in mind that the con- 
nection between national sins and national ruin is not 
arbitrary — it is natural. God does not usually destroy 
guilty nations by a miracle. The people that will not 
serve God shall perish, as the legitimate result of their 
own conduct. They destroy themselves. 

And what are some of our national sins ? Must we 
not place prominently in the list the wide-spread dese- 
cration of the Sabbath ; thousands making the day a 
season for secular business, or of festivity and gossip ; 
the transaction of official duties under the plea of mili- 
tary necessity; the example of our governors, our 
judges, our congressmen, and our military officers, who 
are notorious for their neglect of public worship. Look 



114 THE HOPE OF THE NATION. 

at intemperance, with its kindred vices of profanity, 
lewdness, and gambling ; the awful increase of conjugal 
infidelity; military libertines and gaily attired wantons, 
unblushingly parading all our towns, and jostling 
honest men's wives and daughters ; the growing laxity 
of family discipline; the withdrawal of the requisite 
means to support the Gospel, and the conseqent ne- 
cessity of ministers engaging in secular pursuits to 
sustain their families ; the wide-spread speculations 
and exorbitant prices in reference to the necessaries of 
life ; the frauds and peculations in our various army 
bureaux ; the corruption of the press ; the neglect of 
the duties of masters to their slaves ; the neglect of the 
families of our brave soldiers who have gone far from 
home to fight the battles of our country. 

Are these some of our national sins ? What then 
must be our doom, unless speedy repentance and ref- 
ormation interpose? "Shall not the Lord visit for 
these things, and shall not he be avenged on such a 
nation as this ? " And may he not give us over to our 
own lusts, a prey ? A lingering decay is worse than a 
sudden overthrow. 

A nation dies when everything great and good dies 
in it. The name may live after the glory has departed. 
Talk not of our written Constitution, glorious as it is — 
immortal as we hope it may be. Political security 
dwells not in the letter, but in the spirit of our free in- 
stitutions. Yet many deem all safe, so long as the 
letter is safe. Death does not take away the soul and 
body both. Life may have departed, and yet not an 
artery, or bone, or fiber be removed. And so the spirit 
of a government may perish, and not a line or letter of 
its written constitution be effaced. When usurpation 
comes in, masked and hypocritical, its abiding place is 
usually the dead letter of a once free Constitution. 



THE HOPE OP THE NATION. 115 

Behold Augustus Cassar wielding imperial power amid 
the forms of a dead republic. The safest place of 
despotism is the vacant temple of freedom — a woeful 
desecration, like the temple of God turned into the 
mart of the money changers. 

Finally, I call upon all, in view of our alarming con- 
dition, to prostrate themselves before the mighty Euler 
of the Universe. Humble yourselves under the mighty 
hand of God. Be afflicted and mourn and weep. Let 
your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy 
to heaviness. Let your prayer be, " Spare, oh Lord, 
spare thy people, and give not thy heritage to reproach." 
Forget not that the sins of the nation are the sins of 
the individuals who compose it. Let each one, then 
repent of his personal sins. Let each one enquire how 
far he has, by his example, contributed to swell the 
guilt of the land, and excite the wrath of the Almighty. 

We read that when Nineveh was threatened by the 
prophet Jonah, the king proclaimed a fast. " l And he 
arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, 
and' covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.' 
And the whole city was clad in the habiliments of sor- 
row. Yea, the very cattle were deprived of their usual 
sustenance, that by their mournful lowing, they might 
increase the solemnity of the occasion. And, in con- 
sequence of this public and universal humiliation, the 
Lord spared the city. If, on this day, set apart as a 
season of national fasting and prayer, our honored 
Chief Magistrate, with his distinguished associates in 
the government, has cast aside the pomp and ceremoni- 
als of office, and has prostrated himself in humility 
before his God, and if a loud and fervent cry for mercy 
has ascended from a million of penitent hearts in all 
parts of this bleeding country, may we not humbly 
trust that our prayers will be heard ; that our sins as 



116 THE HOPE OF THE NATION. 

a nation shall be blotted out, that the judgments of 
heaven will be arrested, and that rich and abundant 
blessings such as God alone can bestow, will visit all 
our borders ? ' Then shall the earth yield her increase ; 
and God, even our own God, shall bless us.' " 



THE GLOET OF THE OHTJEOH. 

Preached at Bethel Church (near Oakland College), on taking the pastoral 
charge of said church, April 23, 1843. 



" The King's daughter is all glorious within." — 
Psalm 45 : 13. This language is figurative. By " the 
King's daughter " is meant the Church. And by the 
Church is meant — the body of all true believers of every 
name and country, however separated by national or 
ecclesiastical barriers. What, are we informed, consti- 
tutes the glory of the Church? Something which is 
internal. " The King's daughter is all glorious within." 
Now, if the glory of the universal Church be internal, 
the glory of every particular branch of the Church must 
be internal likewise. Because, whatever is true of the 
whole, must be true of all the several parts. Conse- 
quently the glory of every individual Christian, as well 
as of every particular denomination, is internal glory — 
the glory of the inner man — a glory arising not from 
external splendor, but from internal tempers and graces. 
" The King's daughter is all glorious within." " The 
kingdom of heaven is not meat and drink, but right- 
ousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." 

Taking the test as our infallible guide, let us pro- 
ceed to enquire in what consists the true glory of a par- 
ticular local church or denomination of Christians. 

In what does it not consist ? 

1. It does not necessarily consist in wealth. The pos- 
session of ample pecuniary means is not essential to the 
health or vigor of a particular denomination. The 



118 THE GLORY OF THE CHURCH. 

moral power of a Church is often impaired instead of 
being increased by the influence of great temporal re- 
sources. There are two forms in which a Church may 
possess wealth. It may consist either in the wealth of 
its individual members, or in the possession of vested 
funds. If in the former, these results will most gener- 
ally follow— a sufficiency of pecuniary means to sustain 
the Church is obtained without a struggle; conse- 
quently there exists no powerful cause to beget a deep 
sense of dependence on God. The pecuniary burdens 
of the Church, are, in that case, usually borne by a few. 
These few, because of their wealth or importance, are 
strongly tempted to arrogate to themselves dangerous 
prerogatives, to frown upon their poor brethren, aud 
even to interfere with the pastor in the faithful dis- 
charge of his duties. Or, does the wealth of a Church 
consist in vested funds ? Consequences still more inju- 
rious are liable to ensue. These funds give rise to a 
spirit of contention. Various and contradictory are the 
plans proposed for their disbursement; and hypocritical 
and designing men often insinuate themselves into the 
pale of the Church, and pervert these funds from their 
original purposes. Facts to substantiate these remarks 
might be easily adduced. 

But let a denomination be comparatively poor ; let it 
experience difficulty as it respects its pecuniary con- 
cerns, and this very difficulty will prove a benefit. It 
will beget a sense of dependence of God. It will tend 
to awake up the energies of the whole Church ; to bring 
into requisition the services of every member, and cause 
every individual to feel that he is called upon to bear 
his part of the common burden. And just in proportion 
to the difficulties to be encountered, and in proportion 
to the degree in which these difficulties are met and 
borne by the entire mass of the Church, will the interest 



THE GLORY OF THE CHUECH. 119 

which will be awakened, and the energy and vigor 
which will pervade the entire denomination. For noth- 
ing tends more powerfully to cement societies or empires 
together, than a sense of common weakness, or an ap- 
prehension of common danger. And nothing is more 
calculated to beget a deep interest in any object or pos- 
session, than the labor and care which have been be- 
stowed upon it. Comparative poverty, pecuniary diffi- 
culties, personal self-denial, often aid materially in 
building up a Church. 

2. The glory of a Church does not consist in mem- 
bers. How often has a feeling of despondency insensi- 
bly pervaded a denomination and paralyzed its energies, 
merely from the fewness of its adherents ; from a small 
membership — a thin audience. And, on the other hand, 
how frequently have very unholy feelings and sentiments 
been begotten, from the fact that the Church is large, its 
members numerous, and its stated services attract 
crowds of hearers. There is something exceedingly flat- 
tering to human pride, in the face of numbers. The 
consciousness that our cause is popular — that we are 
enrolled with the majority — that there is a large multi- 
tude who are acting in concert with us — is calculated to 
beget a train of feelings by no means in accordance with 
the humility of the Gospel. Under such circumstances, 
the Church is in danger of being caressed merely be- 
cause it is fashionable. There is great danger, also, that 
excitement will be mistaken for religion, that persons 
may be admitted upon very slight inquiry into their 
qualifications, and that hypocrites and designing per- 
sons may enroll themselves among the dominant party, 
golely from selfish and sinister purposes ; until, ere long, 
the Church, trusting wholly to her own strength, loses 
sight of her great heavenly reliance. But, on the con- 
trary, what more clearly indicates the sincerity and ster- 



120 THE GLOEY OF THE CHUKCH. 

ling integrity of a Church ? When her friends adhere 
to her through evil as well as through good report ; even 
when her members are few, when her cause is unpopu- 
lar, and the world treat her with contempt. Then her 
friends, few and solitary, cling more closely around her. 
Then their hearts become knit together as the heart of 
one man ; and trusting not to an arm of flesh, rely more 
implicitly on the arm of the Lord. Then it is they can 
plead the promise of Scripture — "Fear not, little 
flock," " "Where two or three are met together in my 
name, there am I in the midst of them." Oh, it is easy 
and pleasant to go with the multitude. But to stem 
the current ; to breast the storm ; to maintain an attach- 
ment to a cause which has but few adherents ; it is this 
which tests the character ; it is this which lightens all 
the Christian graces, and evinces a lofty and magnani- 
mous soul. 

3. The glory of a Church does not consist in impos- 
ing and attractive forms of worship ; in the eloquence 
of her ministry ; in the splendor of her architecture ; in 
the visible impressiveness of her stated ceremonies. 
History declares that the Church has often flourished 
most and been most glorious withiD, when persecuted 
without ; when her members have had to take refuge in 
caves and mountain-tops from the storms of persecutions. 
True, there is no essential inconsistency between true 
piety and impressive external ceremonies. But when does 
there exist the greatest danger of mistaking mere forms 
for true religion ? of substituting the excitement of the 
imagination for the devotion of the heart ? It is when 
wealth, and taste, and fashion combine their influence 
to array Christianity in borrowed plumes beneath the 
splendid domes of some time-hallowed pile ; where the 
dim religious light streams through carved openings, 
and architecture and dazzling priestly vestments com- 



THE GLORY OF THE CHURCH. 121 

bine with the solemn music of the full-toned organ, to 
impart an unearthly grandeur to the scene. There the 
senses may be feasted while the heart remains untouched. 
There tears may flow, but not the tears of penitence. 
There the whole soul may be elevated by a species of 
ecstasy ; and after gazing for an hour upon the gaudy 
pantomime, return with greater zest to the lusts of pleas- 
ure of an irreligious life. Oh, be not deceived ; " God 
is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship 
him in spirit and in truth." 

Having thus briefly dwelt upon the negative part of 
our subject, we come now to dwell upon its positive 
import. Having shown in what the glory of the Church 
does not consist, let us now show in what it does con- 
sist. The text declares that it consists in something 
which is internal. "The king's daughter is all glorious 
within." 1. The glory of the Church consists in her 
doctrinal purity: in her being the depository of the 
truth — the advocate and the guardian of the great lead- 
ing doctrines of the Gospel. A sound and scriptural 
creed lies at the foundation of all holy obedience. Where 
there exists in a Church no doctrinal purity, it is impos- 
sible long to maintain holiness of heart and life among 
her members. There can be no elevated morality where 
there are no sound religious principles. If we think 
wrong we will act wrong. The creed and the conduct 
will always go together. Hence, where a Church is un- 
sound in her doctrines, she wiH be unsound and unholy 
in her practice. Hence, God has committed to his 
Church the sacred principles and ordinances of the Gos- 
pel, and the Church is commanded to maintain them at 
all hazards, and transmit them pure and unadulterated 
from age to age. To this end, we are commanded to 
" contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the 
saints " — "to buy the truth and sell it not" — "to write 
6 



122 THE GLOEY OF THE CHUECH. 

it upon our hearts" — "to bind it as frontlets upon our 
foreheads, and to teach it to our children, and to medi- 
tate upon it when we lie down, and when we rise up." 
When, then, is the " King's daughter all glorious with- 
in ? " When her ministers and her members proclaim 
to the world that there is but one living and true God — 
existing in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the 
Holy Ghost — that the Scriptures are the only infallible 
guide of faith and practice — that man is a sinner, lost 
and ruined by the fall — his whole soul utterly depraved 
and exposed to the wrath and curse of God — that salva- 
tion can be obtained only through the blood of Jesus 
Christ — that the heart must be regenerated by the 
power of the Holy Ghost — that man must lead a holy 
life, or else his profession of religion is vain — " that God 
has appointed a day in which he will judge the world," 
"when the Lord Jesus will descend from heaven with a 
shout," " when the heavens shall pass away, and the ele- 
ments shall melt with fervent heat." When these great 
truths are believed in all sincerity — proclaimed from the 
pulpit with all fidelity, and when they produce a holy 
influence upon the external conduct of those who be- 
lieve them, then the glory of the Church will shine forth, 
and "Zion will arise from the dust, put on her beautiful 
garments, and appear, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, 
and terrible ^as an army with banners." 

2. The glory of a church consists in her spirituality — 
in her cultivation of heart-religion — in her tenderness 
of feeling, ardor of love, and fervency of devotion. Let 
none suppose we would exalt mere orthodoxy of creed 
above the more important possession of experimental 
godliness. No : faith without works is dead. Such a 
faith will save no man. It will only deepen his future 
damnation. "For he that knoweth his Master's will 
and doeth it not, the same shall be beaten with many 



THE GLORY OF THE CHUECH. 123 

stripes." An orthodox creed without a holy heart, is a 
mere shadow without substance — a house without a 
foundation — a dead carcass without an animating prin- 
ciple of life — a palace of ice, beautiful externally, but 
within it is chilliness and death. "Though I speak 
with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not 
charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling 
cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and 
understand all mysteries, and all knowledge ; and though 
I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and 
have not charity, or love, it profiteth me nothing." 
And what is this love, to which the apostle attaches 
such infinite value ? Love for communion with God — 
love for secret prayer — love for the Holy Scriptures — 
love for the Lord Jesus Christ — love for the ordinances 
of the Church — love for all true Christians — love for our 
bitterest enemies. Oh, it is when Christians entertain 
these feelings, that the Church becomes "all glorious - 
within." 

3. The glory of a Church consists in the harmony of 
its members. " Behold, how good and how pleasant it 
is for brethren to dwell together in unity ! It is like 
precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon 
the beard, even Aaron's beard ; that went down to the 
skirts of his garments; as the dew of Hermon, and as 
the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion : 
for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life 
for evermore." Nothing more powerfully illustrates the 
divinity of our holy religion, than a oneness of feeling, 
of sentiment, and of action, among its professors. And 
why should it not be so? How gloriously was this ex- 
hibited on the day of Pentecost : " And when the day 
of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one ac- 
cord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound 
from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled 



124 THE GLORY OF THE CHURCH. 

all the house where they were sitting. And there ap- 
peared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it 
sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with 
the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, 
as the Spirit gaye them utterance." Then was the 
Church " all glorious within." Christians bore the im- 
press of the divine image in their hearts, and brought 
forth the fruits of holiness in their lives. Ministers and 
people felt a common impulse. They had one heart, 
one hope, and one interest. "The love of Christ con- 
strained them," and losing sight of all party feuds and 
personal animosities, they were wholly absorbed in one 
sublime object, the glory of God, and the salvation of 
the souls of men. And that object was attained. The 
Holy Ghost came down, and three thousand were added 
in one day. Now let Christians in our day, unite to- 
gether in the same harmonious union — let them all 
come together with one accord, in one place — full of 
faith, full of zeal, full of brotherly love, and effects as 
glorious would be sure to follow. The whole united 
energy of the Church, concentrated in this one grand 
object, would call down the influences of the spirit of 
God. A deep solemnity would pervade all classes. But 
why the low state of piety in the Church ? The aliena- 
tions, the strifes, and the unhallowed divisions of Chris- 
tians. " One is for Paul, another for Apollos, and few 
for Christ." One finds fault with the preacher ; another 
complains of being slighted by his brethren; a third is 
given to a continued spirit of fault-finding; and mur- 
muring, and envyings, and heart-burnings mar the beauty 
of Zion. " And the Spirit, like a peaceful dove, flees 
from the scenes of noise and strife." 



UKTVEBSAL BENEVOLENCE. 

An address preached before the Young Men's Christian Association of 
Houston, August, 1873. 



"As we have, therefore, opportunity, let us do good 
unto all men; especially to them, who are of the house- 
hold of faith." — Galatians, 6 : 10. Those who "are of 
the household of faith/' haye special claims upon the 
benevolence of their brethren ; for they have com- 
menced a life of peculiar trials, have espoused a cause 
to which is often attached peculiar odium, and against 
which are often arrayed enemies of no common viru- 
lence. Hence they need a peculiar and unusual share 
of fraternal •sympathy and aid. From these considera- 
tions, however, we are by no means to infer that this 
class of our fellow-men are to be exclusive objects of 
our love. We must " do good unto all men." Where'er 
there is a sufferer throughout the immense brotherhood 
of man, there must love hover on her downy pinion. 
Like the knight-errant in the days of chivalry, who 
roamed the earth to punish proud oppressors, and vin- 
dicate the trodden-down rights of the friendless, so 
must man sally forth with a hand to succor and a heart 
to feel ; prompt to every call of mercy ; equipped, as op- 
portunity may present, to dispel ignorance, to soothe 
sorrow, to reclaim the wanderer from the path of virtue, 
and wipe the cold sweat from the brow of the dying. 

I shall attempt to advocate the claims of universal 
benevolence. Why must we do good unto all men ? 



126 UNIVERSAL BENEVOLENCE. 

1. Universal benevolence constitutes the true dignity 
of man. 

Under no other garb does human nature present a 
more sublime aspect. He who is actuated by the ex- 
pansive spirit of doing good ; he who aspires to be not 
a mere passive recipient, but an active, a munificent dis- 
tributer of blessings, feels that he is born for a high 
and noble destiny. Hence he learns to look down with 
abhorrence upon all that is base, tyrannical, and bigoted. 
He gradually gains the mastery over his evil passions; 
bursts the chains of selfishness and pride ; overleaps the 
narrow bounds of sectarian exclusiveness ; obtains an 
effectual antidote against the undue love of money, and 
throws wide the doors of his heart to the entrance of 
every generous and philanthropic impulse. Must not 
that be the most exalted species of human nobleness, 
which gives birth to feelings and results like these? 
The possession of this virtue constitutes the true dignity 
of man, for it leads directly and necessarily to an ob- 
servance of the holy Decalogue. "Love is the fulfilling 
of the law." Let universal benevolence become the 
prevailing temper of the heart. And how can its pos- 
sessor, for one moment, endure the thought of assailing 
a fellow-mortal's person, or breathing a whisper of 
calumny against his reputation, or violating his rights 
of property, or coveting his dear and most cherished 
possessions ? Benevolence is man's true dignity, for it 
assimilates him to all the great and noble beings in the 
universe. It causes him to bear some resemblance to 
Almighty God. "God is love." His very existence 
constitutes a boundless ocean of benevolence. It causes 
him to resemble the Lord Jesus Christ, that glorious 
Prince of benefactors. It elevates him to a place among 
the most exalted and renowned spirits that have ever 
trod the earth — the Washingtons, the La Fayettes, and 



UNIVERSAL BENEVOLENCE. 127 

the Howards ; men who lived, and toiled, and wept for 
the good of their fellow-men ; the effects of whose bene- 
factions will be coeval with Time ; the measure of whose 
fame will be boundless as Eternity. It is the spirit of 
expanded benevolence which lives and breathes through 
all the works of nature. Every object throughout the 
vast material universe, seems to exist on purpose to do 
good, to communicate blessings to other beings, while 
it apparently makes no provision for itself. The glori- 
ous sun, the rolling ocean, the rivers, the silvery moun- 
tain streamlet, the many-colored rainbow, the enameled 
flowers, the dappled morn, the bending fruits of autumn 
— all, all are continually pouring forth streams of pure 
beneficence into the lap of man, whilst they take back 
no blessing in return. All nature is " beauty to the eye, 
or music to the ear." And will that which gives so 
much loveliness and grandeur to nature, impart no 
moral sublimity and dignity to man ? 

2. Universal benevolence constitutes the true happi- 
ness of man. 

All those other sources to which mankind usually re- 
sort for pleasure — such as fame, wealth, exemption from 
pain and care — are often very difficult to be found ; or 
if found, are most difficult to be retained ; or if retained, 
and indulged in beyond a certain limit, recoil upon the 
heart surcharged with a load of remorse, satiety, and 
disgust. But here is one pure fountain, to which every 
thirsty soul may have free and unobstructed access. 
The crystal streams flow perennially. The channel 
never dries. Of its healthful waters full and frequent 
draughts may be imbibed, and no loathing disrelish 
will e'er ensue. 

The pleasures of benevolence are of two kinds : posi- 
tive and negative. It creates happiness; it prevents mis- 
ery. And if the blessing of benevolence was merely of 



128 . UNIVERSAL BENEVOLENCE. 

the latter kind, it would constitute the most desirable 
of all possessions. For, let it once gain entrance into 
the heart, and how instantaneously will it drive out a 
legion of diabolical passions — envy, anger, covetousness, 
revenge — passions that rankle in the heart like barbed 
arrows, sting like scorpions, gnaw like vultures; and 
ever and anon bursting forth like the smoldering fires 
of a hidden volcano, roll their scalding lava over society. 
But pour the oil of pure philanthropy into the soul, and 
the billows cease to roll; the storm subsides into a 
placid calm. 

Is this the only species of negative happiness which 
benevolence occasions ? It is not. The God of heaven 
has so constituted man, that not more than one-half of 
his existence is absolutely requisite for needful toil, 
sleep, and animal indulgence. Consequently, as a gen- 
eral rule, every human being has a large surplus of 
time, talent, and energy, over and above what is neces- 
sary for his own use. A very important question then 
here arises: Hoiv shall this surplusage fie employed? 
In what way shall it be expended? To what cause 
shall it be sacredly devoted ? Benevolence would gladly 
step in and borrow it of man ; and after having employed 
it in her' sacred service, pour a glorious compensation 
into the owner's bosom. But man will not accept of 
the overture. This precious capital, instead of being 
made to yield a daily revenue of unalloyed pleasure, is 
most wickedly perverted ; and by being so, generates a 
countless train of woes. " What shall we do to get rid 
of this useless portion of our existence? how shall we 
kill time ? " is the constant aim of multitudes. 

One seems to aspire to no higher honor than the life 
of a mere animal. He has eat and drank and slept like 
a stall-fed ox, until at last he can endure it no longer. 
And linked to his species by no strong ties of sympa- 



UNIVEESAL BENEVOLENCE. 129 

thetic feeling, absorbed and elevated by no grand object 
of pursuit, life becomes an intolerable burden ; the world, 
a gloomy prison-house ; and raising his suicidal hand, 
he plunges the dagger to his own heart, and rushes un- 
bidden into eternity. Another has too great dread 
of death, thus suddenly to let go his hold on life. But 
still, he has unoccupied time and unemployed energies, 
which hang heavy on his hands ; and what shall he do 
with them ? He turns lazy monk, or musing anchorite. 
Behold a third. He has spent many a year of toil and 
care, to accumulate wealth. At last he has attained his 
object. And now what shall he do with the remainder 
of his days ? How shall he enjoy his dear-bought pos- 
sessions ? Oh, this he will do : he will retire from busi- 
ness, and having bought him a beautiful villa far from 
the bustling throng, he will there doze out the remainder 
of his days in calm retirement — a second Cincinnatus or 
Sage of Monticello ; forgetting, however, that he has no 
fountains of enjoyment, as they had, in his own breast. 
And no sooner, then, is he fairly housed in his new 
retreat, than he falls a prey to the most morbid melan- 
choly; and unless he speedily retake himself to his 
former bustling occupation, he will die of premature old 
age, or sink into all the whims and frailties of a second 
childhood. Behold a fourth. He is determined that lie 
will not die, like his purse-proud neighbor, of gout or 
ennui ; but will keep on at the goodly and respectable 
occupation of making money. Wan and care-worn, he 
pursues his ceaseless round — counts his bags and cons 
his ledger ; until at last he falls a victim to a most 
wretched monomania; avarice lays her cold clutches 
upon his stinted soul ; money, money, is his god — " give, 
give," like the horse-leech's daughter. And finally, 
death tears him from his idol, and throws his worthless 
body to the worms. There is still another, perhaps 



130 UNIVERSAL BENEYOLENCE. 

somewhat singular in the plan he adopts, to squander 
the precious surplus capital with which nature hath en- 
dowed him : 

" This is your modern man of fashion— 

A man of taste and dissipation : 

A busy man without employment, 

A happy man without enjoyment. 

In sleep, and dress, and sport, and play, 

He throws his worthless life away. 

Has no opinion of his own, 

But takes from leading beaux the ton. 

Custom pursues, his only rule, 

And lives an ape and dies a fool." 

Now what a blessed antidote to all these miserable 
modes of dragging out life, of murdering existence, does 
benevolence propose. Take that surplus of time, talent, 
and energy, which you do not need for your own wants, 
and the squandering of which causes so much sin and 
folly, and expend it in the cause of others. " Go about 
doing good." Open thine eyes upon a world of misery. 
Instruct the ignorant, reclaim the vicious, espouse the 
cause of the friendless. Seek out retiring merit and 
unrequited virtue from their secret abodes, and demand 
for them a public reward. Aid in sending the Gospel 
to the heathen. Oh, let the wail of the orphan and the 
tears of the widow — let the piteous tale of the penniless, 
the groans that issue from dungeons and battle-fields, 
from families escaping from their blazing habitations, 
and mariners wrecked upon the ocean, reach thine ears, 
and pierce thine heart, and nerve thy soul to noble deeds 
of charity. Then thine energies will never stagnate; 
then thy sympathies in life will never expire for want 
of nutriment ; then thon wilt never become a prey to 
melancholy, nor life hang heavy on thy hands, because 
of no great object of pursuit to give healthful occupa- 
tion to thy powers. 



UNIVEKSAL BENEVOLENCE. 131 

Such are some of the mere negative portions of the 
pleasures of benevolence. But, in addition to all this, 
she has happiness of a positive kind, joys of her own 
creation, pure fountains in the heart, of which none can 
taste but their own possessor. For there is the fervent 
prayer of the poor ; there is the tear of gratitude trick- 
ling down the cheek ; and the heart-felt invocation of 
heaven's richest blessing on thy soul, uttered by him 
thou hast so timely succored. There, too, is the joy of 
giving, the luxury of doing good, sweeter to the soul 
than music's richest melody, or the gush of water in the 
desert to the thirsty pilgrim. Oh, if there be a foretaste 
of angel's food on earth, it is the consciousness of having 
done a noble action, of having dried a mourner's tears, 
or stanched one bleeding wound in sorrow's breast. 

" This world's not ' all a fleeting show, 

For man's illusion given ; ' 
He that hath soothed a widow's woe, 
Or wiped an orphan's tears, doth know 

There is something here of heaven." 

"It is more blessed to give than to receive." "The 
liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth, 
shall be watered also himself." "While he that has no 
boon to bestow upon his species, is the meanest of all 
God's creatures. He has no music in his soul. He is 

" Creation's blot, creation's blank ; 
Whom none can love, whom none can thank." 

Power will cause you to be feared; learning, to be 
admired ; wealth and beauty, to be nattered. But naught 
but benevolence will cause you to be truly loved. And 
when thou diest, tears of gratitude will be poured out 
like sweet incense on thy tomb, and children yet unborn 
shall lisp with reverence thy name. 

3. The virtue which we advocate is the very essence 
of true piety. 



132 UNIVERSAL BENEYOLENCE. 

Iii proof of this position, hear the plain and positive 
declarations of God's word. 1 John 4 : 20: "If a man 
say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for 
he that loveth not his brother whom he halh seen, how 
can he love God whom he hath not seen ? " James 2 : 
15, 16: "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute 
of daily food; and one of you say unto them, depart in 
peace, be ye warmed, and filled; notwithstanding ye 
give them not those things which are needful to the 
body ; what doth it profit ? " " Pure religion and unde- 
filed before God and the Father is this, to visit the 
fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep 
one's self unspotted from the world." And at the awful 
day of judgment, after the glorious temple of truth and 
righteousness, which is now erecting on this earth, shall 
have received its completion, and " Grace, Grace," shall 
be the shout of heaven's anthem at the laying of the 
top-stone, and when the mighty Architect shall come 
down to review the work, and knock away this external 
scaffolding, and pay off the laborers, "then shall he sit 
upon the throne of his glory ; and before him shall be 
gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one 
from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the 
goats. And he shall set the sheep on the right hand, 
but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say to 
them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, 
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the founda- 
tion of the world. For I was an hungered, and ye gave 
me meat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; I was a 
stranger, and ye took me in ; naked, and ye clothed me ; 
I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye 
came unto me. Then shall the righteous (bowed down 
with a sense of their great unworthiness and many im- 
perfections) answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we 
thee an hungered, and fed thee ? or thirsty, and gave 



UNIVERSAL BENEVOLENCE. 133 

■i 

thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took 
thee in ? or naked, and clothed thee ? or when saw we 
thee sick, or in prison, and came imto thee ? And the 
King shall answer, and say nnto them, Verily I say unto 
you, inasmuch as ye done it unto one of the least of 
these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (For the 
poor are my representatives on earth. I myself was 
once a homeless wanderer; and while the foxes had 
holes, and the birds of the air had nests, the son of man 
had not where to lay his head.) 

The awards of the great day, you perceive, will turn 
upon the discharge or neglect of these six charities. 
The Judge then will not ask, " Have ye possessed mere 
cold and heartless orthodoxy, or flaming zeal ? Have 
ye punctiliously adhered to certain rites and ceremonies, 
or contended with unseemly warmth for ecclesiastical 
order. But, more than all this, have ye fed the hungry ? 
have ye clothed the naked? have ye given water to the 
thirsty soul ? sheltered the houseless stranger ? soothed 
the moaning anguish of the sick ? and visited the 
prisoner in his dungeon ? " 

" Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase !) 
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace 
And saw, within the moonlight in his room, 
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom, 
An angel writing in a book of gold : — 
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold, 
And to the angel in the room he said, 
' What writest thou ? ' The vision raised its head, 
And with a look made of all sweet accord, 
Answer'd, ' The names of those who love the Lord.' 
* And is mine one ? ' asked Abou. ' Nay, not so,' 
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low, 
But cheerly still ; and said, ' I pray thee, then, 
Write me as one that loves his fellow-men.' 
The angel wrote, and vanish'd. The next night 
It came again, with a great wakening light, 



134 UNIYEESAL BENEVOLENCE. 

And show'd the names whom love of God had bless'd, 
And lo ! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest." 

4. Universal benevolence is strongly inculcated from 
taking into consideration the identity of the human 
race. 

"And who is my neighbor?" Where are the mem- 
bers of my fraternity ? Oh, I see one, shivering amidst 
the snows of Greenland; another, wrapt in furs amidst 
the smoke of his Norwegian cottage; a third, wading 
with the weary caravan over the burning sands of 
Sahara's desert. I recognize my brother in that sable 
form, musing in plaintive mood, amidst the gray ruins 
of Babel or of Tadmor; in that naked savage, chasing 
the deer up the steeps of the Rocky Mountains, far 
towards the setting sun. 

Therefore we would enforce the exhortation of the 
text: "Let us do good unto all men," from the fact that 
all men are brethren. 

" Ne'er withdraw thy pity from thy brother : 

Whatsoe'er his garb 

Or lineament may be ; howe'er the sun 
Hath burnt dark tints upon him, or the yoke 
Of vassalage and scorn hath bowed him low — 
Still must thy spirit at thy brother's pain, 
Vibrate as the swept lyre." 

5. Universal benevolence is most solemnly inculcated, 
by considering the great benefits and blessings which 
would flow from its universal prevalence. 

Is it not enough to make one "blush and hang his 
head to think himself a man," when he reflects upon 
the mighty talents, the transcendent capabilities with 
which God hath endowed the race, and which, instead 
of being made to subserve the cause of virtue, have been 
used to scathe and desolate the earth ? Oh, to what a 
peerless height of bliss and beauty would this world 



UNIVERSAL BENEVOLENCE. 135 

have long ago aspired, had all our great men been good 
men ; had men of might been men of God ; had Alex- 
ander the Great been a missionary of mercy ; had Julius 
Cassar crossed the Rubicon as a herald of salvation; 
had Napoleon Bonaparte vowed upon his bended knees 
before high heaven, that he would rush to the rescue 
of his suffering fellow-men, and no more revisit the 
blushing vinehills of his lovely France until he had 
penetrated the icy regions of the North, crossed the 
frozen Alps, doubled the stormy Cape, and planted the 
standard of light and love amid the teeming millions of 
the East. 

But what would be the inevitable results flowing from 
the prevalence of universal love? Wars would cease. 
National jealousies would expire. Dueling would be 
known merely as the relic of a dark and murderous age. 
The dishonorable and cowardly practice of carrying con- 
cealed weapons would meet with one loud, long hiss of 
scorn. Lawless ambition, political oppression, slander, 
disobedience to parents, falsehood, theft, conjugal infi- 
delity, sectarian exclusiveness, all would expire. And 
from earth's regenerated energies would spring forth a 
glorious harvest of every generous and noble virtue. 
Then every hovel of distress would be visited, every 
afflicted and persecuted soul would find a friend, every 
debt would be punctually paid, every commodity sold at 
its real value, every article of merchandise exhibited in 
its true light, every promise faithfully kept, every dis- 
pute amicably adjusted, every man's character held in 
sacred estimation. Oh, glorious era ! 

" Lord, for those days we wait — those days 
Are in thy word foretold : — 
Fly swifter, sun and stars, and bring 
That promised age of gold." 



MORAL INSANITY. 

Preached at Yicksburg, 1841. 



"I am not mad, most Nolle Festus." — Acts 26 : 25. 
The learned Paul was esteemed a maniac. And in 
reference to one greater than Paul, it was said, " he is 
beside himself." And how often has the same charge 
been brought against ardent Christians in our own day. 
— Glowing zeal for the truth, devout reverence for God, 
pungent sorrow for sin, occasional rapture of devotion, 
or uncommon fervor in prosecuting some great scheme 
of benevolence, have often been viewed as evidences of 
mental derangement. But is the charge just? Let us 
examine and see. Mental derangement usually exhibits 
itself in the form of monomania — i. e., derangement 
upon some particular topic, while on all other themes 
the mind retains its equilibrium. None but idiots 
manifest entire mental fatuity. It is only when unduly 
occupied by some one train of thought, or when in- 
dulging in some darling passion, or when prosecuting 
with intemperate ardor some favorite object of pursuit, 
that the intellect becomes unsettled. Hence, it is a 
most rare phenomenon, to meet with an individual 
frenzied or insane, whose business or situation in life 
requires him frequently to change his trains of thought, 
or to pass, in pleasant transition, from one occupation 
to another. And it is a fact of frequent occurrence, 
that those who have lost their intellectual balance, have 
found immediate relief from a change of scenery or oc- 



MOBAL INSANITY. 137 

cupation — from traveling, music, literary pursuits, or 
the conversation of persons of sprightly conversational 
powers. 

Now, if such be the cause, and such the cure of 
mental alienation, how can experimental religion ever 
make a man a maniac ? Experimental piety, wherever 
healthful and scriptural, precludes entire and undivided 
absorption in one train of thought or one species of 
emotions, to the exclusion of all others. It calls into 
exercise a great variety of mental powers, and gives 
indulgence to every species of emotions and pursuits. 
Does it create fears, it also creates hopes. Hath it sor- 
rows, it hath also joys. Does it inculcate gravity, it 
likewise enjoins cheerfulness. Does it demand attention 
to the concerns of the soul, it is equally explicit in en- 
forcing attention to the claims of the body. Does it 
call for the exercise of love to G-od, it is equally pointed 
in commanding love to man. Let then the religion of 
the Gospel exert its legitimate power upon the mind 
and heart, and it will serve as a complete system of 
checks and balances, precluding, in its very nature, 
everything like mental insanity. The thoughts it be- 
gets, the feelings it enkindles, the duties and pursuits 
it inculcates, are too diversified to lead to such a result. 

But experimental religion is not only not the cause 
of insanity, it is often its cure, or its preventive — 
" ministering to a mind diseased, and plucking from the 
heart a rooted sorrow." Eeligion forbids violent grief, 
and violent anger — excessive mirth or excessive melan- 
choly — frantic wailings for the dead, or wild bursts of 
joy at the sudden attainment of wealth or honor. It 
pacifies a guilty conscience, removes the pangs of re- 
morse, curbs the fiend-like passion of revenge, imparts 
contentment to the lot assigned by Providence, and re- 
moves the terrors of death. Oh, how often have we 



138 MOEAL INSANITY. 

known it to come suddenly to the rescue, like an angel 
of mercy, seizing the stricken spirit from the grasp of 
some foul fiend, and preventing the lunatic's vacant stare, 
the maniac's gloom, or the madman's frenzy. There- 
fore, can that which prevents insanity, ever cause it? 
Can the antidote become the bane ? " Can the same 
fountain send forth salt water and fresh." 

A celebrated medical gentleman, at the head of an 
English lunatic asylum, has informed the world, that 
"moral impulses very rarely produce insanity." And he 
states that he came to this conclusion from the sedulous 
treatment of nearly 700 cases of the disease, only one 
individual of which number had become insane from a 
religious cause. He had frequently been informed that 
some particular patient had become religiously insane. 
But whenever he had obtained an intelligent history of 
the case, he uniformly found that the individual had 
exhibited symptoms of insanity, before he became a 
religious devotee. 



LOVE OF MONET. 

Missionary Address in New Orleans, 1860. 



How universal and idolatrous is the estimate which 
mankind attach to money! Although there is no pos- 
session more uncertain, none more destructive of peace 
of mind, none more productive of crime and prodigality 
among children, yet there is nothing after which the 
majority of men grasp more eagerly, and for which they 
are willing to make greater sacrifices, than for this. 
The Scriptures declare that " the love of money is the 
root of all evil," i. e., all kinds of evil have had their 
origin in the love of money. There is no species of 
evil, whether physical or mental, which has not, at some 
time or other, originated here. The sin of covetousness 
is, in some respects, the most heinous and dangerous 
sin of which man is liable. — It is so, not merely on ac- 
count of its direct and positive effects, but also because 
of the many plausible and winning aspects which it is 
capable of assuming. It can transform itself into an 
angel of light. Under the commendable plea of taking 
care of the family, or laying up in store for old age, or 
providing something for the cause of charity, it can 
impose upon the most cautious, until it finally takes 
entire possession of the soul. Covetousness is almost 
the only sin which is tolerated in decent society. Pro- 
faneness, drunkenness, and sensuality must often hide 
their heads; while covetousness, because of its genteel 
and frugal aspects, rears its head unrebuked and 



140 LOVE OF MONEY. 

unabashed. Covetousness is the only sin which is 
tolerated in the Church. A professing Christian dare 
not be grossly immoral, but he dare be covetous. As 
the loss of one of the five senses renders the others more 
acute, so, the giving up of the common and grosser 
forms of vice, by some persons, when they become mem- 
bers of the Church, imparts to this darling sin a ten- 
fold power. And while men of the world commit all 
sins without restraint, covetous members of the Church 
concentrate their corrupt nature upon this one. Hence 
it becomes intense, absorbing. The moral power of the 
Church is lowered, her energies are crippled, and mul- 
titudes bow down before the shrine of Mammon. 
Bunyan tells of some pilgrims, who, on their jour- 
neying to the Heavenly City, were induced to turn aside 
from their road, to look at a silver mine, recently dis- 
covered in a little hill called "Lucre." "Now," says 
the great dreamer, "whether they went down therein to 
dig or were choked by the fumes that arose from the 
bottom, I know not. But they were never heard of 
afterwards." Christian, beware of "covetousness, 
which is idolatry." Let the case of the rich young 
man, "who went away sorrowful, because he had great 
possession"— let the fate of Achan, who "perished not 
alone in his iniquity " — of Judas, who sold his Master 
" for thirty pieces of silver " — of Ananias and Sapphira, 
who " kept back part of the possession " and "lied unto 
the Holy Ghost," serve as solemn warnings of danger. 



INFLUENCE. 



" For none of us liveth to himself. — Romans 14 : 7. 
Human beings are linked together by indissoluble ties. 
They are virtuous or vicious in groups. They rise and 
fall in masses. Every one is surrounded by a species of 
atmosphere. This atmosphere others breathe, and by it 
others are affected. Hence, the impulse given either to 
truth or error, by a single individual, may be felt 
throughout a whole nation, and affect unborn genera- 
tions : " For none of us liveth to himself, and no man 
dieth to himself." None can isolate himself from his 
race and move on in an independent sphere. On the 
contrary, we are continually radiating images of our- 
selves, which others see and others feel. All men have 
an influence. The good and the bad have each an influ- 
ence. How do bad men acquire their influence ? 

1. Precept gives them influence. They lead others to 
do wrong, by teaching to do wrong. This is done much 
more extensively than many suppose. Without boldly 
advocating palpable errors or admitted crimes, at which 
the moral sense of the community would be shocked, 
bad men often gain their object by a method less obvi- 
ous but not less effectual. They inculcate a lax but 
plausible system of morality. They talk lightly of the 
sanctions of the Divine law, and thus weaken its hold 
on the hearts of the young. They talk disparagingly 
of conscience, and represent its secret admonitions as 



142 INFLUENCE. 

the effects of an early education or the offspring of a 
morbid sensibility. And thus their associates, ere they 
are aware of it, have imbibed a poison more deadly than 
the viper's tooth. The moral sense is blunted. The 
distinction between right and wrong is obliterated. 
Corrupt principles of action are instilled, and vice is 
soon practiced instead of virtue. How plausible and 
how smooth-tongued is often the teacher of error! He 
professes a profound reverence for truth. None more 
rigid in contending for principles than he. He would 
sooner cut off his right arm than teach a falsehood or 
advocate a crime. And while he dare not openly attack 
the gates of the citadel, he, in his way, slyly undermines 
the foundations. He secures the outposts, bribes the 
sentinels, and, by allaying all suspicion, more effectually 
gains an entrance. Vice is always more dangerous when 
clothed in the garb of virtue, and the errorist when ar- 
rayed in the panoply of truth. The most successful 
knaves come thus disguised, as smooth as razors dipped 
in oil, but as sharp. 

2. Example gives influence. Wicked men usually 
accompany their sophistical reasonings by a corrupt 
practice. This gives authority to their precepts, and 
renders them tenfold more dangerous. They who are 
at first shocked at a bad man's principles may insensibly 
fall in love with his example ; and, following at first at 
a respectful distance, may gradually approach nearer, 
until at length they become his bosom companions, his 
obsequious imitators. For it is not the example of the 
most vicious and abandoned which is the most corrupt- 
ing. The drunkard who wallows in the mire may be 
abhorred, while the more temperate drinker may have a 
host of imitators. The bold blasphemer may be viewed 
as a public nuisance, while the polite skeptic, the gay 
sportsman, the accomplished man of pleasure, may have 



INFLUENCE. 143 

troops of friends and give tone to the whole community. 
Some serpents are gifted with the power of fascination. 
They first charm their victim ere they strike their fang. 
And so it is with some men. Their example is a gilded 
one. They attract by their manners, they win by their 
eloquence, they overawe the censures of the good by 
their popularity and wealth. And at last, when they 
die, a vast multitude of the young, the amiable, and the 
inexperienced will rise up in the judgment and heap 
curses on their heads as the authors of their ruin. 

3. Age gives influence. The precepts and example 
of an old man, whether upon the side of vice or virtue, 
always have more weight than those of a younger one. 
An old man has lived longer. He has had more experi- 
ence, and is better acquainted with the world. His gray 
hairs are reverenced. He has more authority. He has 
his family circle and connections around him. While, 
then, it is true that "one sinner destroyeth much good," 
this is peculiarly true of an old sinner.- Here you be- 
hold the case of one, the combined influence of whose 
entire life has been polluting a whole family and a whole 
neighborhood. The companions of his youth, the chil- 
dren and associates of his riper years, as well as the 
familiar companions of his declining days — a large mul- 
titude, have all been breathing his corrupting atmos- 
phere, have been inhaling the slow poison of his con- 
taminating influence. 

4. Exalted station gives influence. When the fount- 
ains are corrupt, the streams are always impure. Eulers 
have an influence which the people have not. Public 
men frame our laws, and are the models by which mul- 
titudes shape their opinions and their conduct. Wide 
and fearful, then, is the prevalence of vice, when public 
men are corrupt. They send forth streams of impurity 
to the extremities of the land, corrupt the fountains of 



144 INFLUENCE. 

justice, and bring a whole nation under the curse of 
Heaven, causing thousands to perish in their sins, like 
the vessel freighted with a precious cargo of human life, 
which is dashed against the rocks through the negli- 
gence of a drunken pilot, and all go down together. 

5. The domestic relations give influence. Yea, this 
is the chief source of influence. It is here, where almost 
all that is good or ill in human life has its origin. It is 
around the domestic hearth that piety and every noble 
virtue begin to grow. It is by the domestic fireside that 
youth are trained up to be their country's ornament- or 
their country's scourge. It is from the family that 
heaven and hell are peopled. If rulers have an influ- 
ence over the people, parents exert a tenfold greater 
influence over their children, husbands over wives, and 
brothers and sisters over each other. As is the parent, 
so is the child. As are the associations of early life, so 
are the sentiments of riper years. If parents sow the 
seeds of piety, inculcate principles of goodly living, 
"allure to brighter worlds and lead the way," children 
are almost sure to follow. 'But if parents inculcate no 
good sentiments, crush no vicious propensities, set no 
godly example, use no efforts to ward off those countless 
unhallowed influences which prowl around the domestic 
enclosure, how, under such circumstances, can piety 
obtain a lodgment in the youthful bosom ? You might 
as well expect roses to bloom upon a mountain of snow. 
Such are some of the causes of that mysterious power 
which every human being, even the humblest, is con- 
tinually exerting over the circle in which he moves. 
Every utterance of the lips, every action of the life, the 
whole force of example, the station occupied, the relation 
sustained, whether of ruler, friend, teacher, parent, hus- 
band, wife, or child, is casting an image upon some fel- 
low mortal, and is influencing him for good or evil. It 



INFLUENCE. 145 

is evident, then, that no one is sufficiently aware of his 
influence. An indiscreet remark, made in thoughtless- 
ness or excitement, may have formed the germ of vice 
in some youthful hosom, and may bring forth fruit unto 
death, long after he who uttered it has passed away from 
earth. Reader, what is your influence ? Is it salutary ? 
Your example, is it safe ? Your vowed principles, are 
they sound? Remember, you are in a certain sense 
your brother's keeper. You cannot prevent your influ- 
ence. It will 1)6 felt. 



SEMI-CENTENNIAL 

OF 

PRESBYTERIANISM IN NEW ORLEANS. 



In" accordance with previous notice, the Presbyte- 
rian congregations assembled in the Eirst Presbyterian 
Church, on Lafayette square, on last Sabbath evening, 
to celebrate, with appropriate services, the organization 
of the first Presbyterian church in this city, on the 
twenty-third of November, fifty years ago. 

The pulpit and its surroundings were tastefully dec- 
orated with floral wreaths and emblems, suited to the 
occasion. To the right of the pulpit was the single 
name — " Earned " — and to the left — " Palmer " — in ever- 
green letters ; with a wreath (also of evergreen) under- 
neath each. On a line with, and between the two, were 
the figures 1823 and 1873, with a hyphen between the 
dates; thus joining together as one, the names and 
years which this memorial day celebrated. The letters 
were about twelve inches in length, and the figures 
eighteen. The latter were made of pure chrysanthe- 
mums, and looked charming in their rich whiteness. 

Upon the communion table, in front of the pulpit, 
was a mound of flowers, three feet high by three wide, 
surrounded by evergreens; typical of the names and 
dates, the past and the present, the living and the dead 
— erected out of respect to the memory of the founder 
of the church, and also in honor of the present, living 



PRESBYTERIANISM IN NEW ORLEANS. 147 

occupant, erected no less to commemorate the lapse of 
half a century of time between the two. 

The chancel rails, pillars of the candelabras, and front 
of the pulpit platform were festooned with wreaths of 
evergreens, intermingled with flowers, while cedars and 
exotic plants were interspersed within and around the 
altar — altogether creating a beautiful though chaste 
and solemn effect. 

THE SERVICES. 

The services were opened precisely at seven o'clock 
with a beautiful voluntary from the choir. 

Rev. B. Wayne, then read the 48th Psalm. 

A fervent and impressive prayer was offered by Rev. 
James Beattie. 

Dr. Palmer then read the following narrative : 

AN HISTORICAL PAPER ON THE ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF 
PRESBYTERIANISM IN THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS. 

It is a little remarkable that the first successful effort 
to plant Presbyterianism in the city of New Orleans 
should have. originated with the Congregationalists of 
New England. Near the beginning of the year 1817, 
the Rev. Elias Cornelius was appointed by the Connec- 
ticut Missionary Society, to engage in a missionary tour 
through the southwestern States, more especially to visit 
New Orleans, then containing a population of thirty to 
thirty-four thousand, and with but one Protestant min- 
ister, the Rev. Dr. Hull ; to examine its moral condi- 
tion, and, while preaching the Gospel to many who 
seldom heard it, to invite the friends of the Congrega- 
tional or Presbyterian Communion to establish a church, 
and secure an able and faithful pastor. In this tour, 
Dr. Cornelius acted also as agent for the A. B. C. P. M., 
to solicit funds for the evangelization of the Indian 



148 SEMI-CENTENNIAL OF 

tribes. In this work lie was eminently successful — 
devoting an entire year to a lengthened tour from Mas- 
sachusetts to Louisiana — collecting large sums for the 
American Board, and arrived in New Orleans on De- 
cember 30, 1817. 

The most important service rendered by Dr. Corne- 
lius, however, was that of introducing the Eev. Sylvester 
Larned to this field of labor. In passing through New 
Jersey, on his journey southward, Dr. Cornelius formed 
the acquaintance of Mr. Larned, then finishing his di- 
vinity course at Princeton, and giving, in the reputation 
acquired as a student, brilliant promise of a successful 
career as a preacher. The arrangement was there formed 
between the two, that Mr. Larned should follow Dr. 
Cornelius to New Orleans after he should have passed 
his trials, and should have been admitted to the min- 
istry. 

On July 15, 1817, Mr. Larned was licensed and or- 
dained by the Presbytery of New York. This ordina- 
tion was clearly to the office of Evangelist, which he 
was in the fullest sense of the word. It appears, too, 
that the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church 
was brought into co-operation with this scheme ; from 
the fact that Drs. Nott and Eomeyn were appointed by 
that body to accompany Mr. Larned to the southwest. 
This appointment was not, however, fulfilled, and we 
find the young evangelist, after a brief visit to his native 
home, leaving on September 26, and journeying alone 
to the field where he was to gather the laurels of an un- 
fading reputation, and then to sanctify it by an early 
death. He reached his destination after innumerable 
delays, January 22, 1818. 

Through the antecedent preparation of his friend, Dr. 
Cornelius, who had preceded him exactly three weeks — 
and still more by his own splendid attractions — over- 



PRESBYTEKIANISM IN NEW OBLEANS. 149 

tures were soon made to him for a permanent settle- 
ment. Subscriptions were circulated for the building 
of a church edifice, which, by April 5, amounted to 
$16,000. It was proposed, as soon as the subscriptions 
were completed, to negotiate a loan of $40,000, the esti- 
mated cost of a building sixty feet by ninety, with about 
two thousand sittings. Considering the infancy of the 
enterprise, the largeness of these plans betokens great 
vigor of effort, and the confidence felt of final success in 
collecting and maintaining a flourishing church. In 
this costly undertaking, generous assistance was received 
from the City Council, in the grant of two lots of ground 
valued at $6,000, and in a subsequent loan of $10,000. 
In the erection of the building, Mr. Larned's spiritual 
labors were interrupted during the summer of 1818 by 
a visit north, for the purpose of soliciting money, and 
also of purchasing materials for building. 

On January 8, 1819, the corner-stone of the new edi- 
fice was laid with imposing ceremonies (and in the pres- 
ence of an immense throng), on the selected site on St. 
Charles street, between Gravier and Union, and on July 
4, following, was solemnly dedicated to the worship of 
Almighty God — with a discourse from Psalms 48 : 9 : 
" We have thought of thy loving kindness, O God, in 
the midst of thy temple," which will be found the fourth 
in the series of sermons published in connection with 
Mr. Larned's Memoirs. 

There are no records from which to learn the spiritual 
growth of the church during this early period, except 
that in one of his letters, Mr. Lamed speaks of a com- 
munion season about the middle of July, 1820, in which 
there were forty-two at the table of the Lord, part of 
whom were, however, Methodists. Mr. Larned's labors 
were those exclusively of an evangelist ; and his brief 
life was spent in gathering a congregation and building 



150 SEMI-CENTENNIAL OP 

a house of worship. There is no record of his hav- 
ing organized a chnrch according to our ecclesiastical 
canons, by the election and ordination of ruling elders ; 
and he himself was never installed into the pastoral re- 
lation by ecclesiastical authority. It pleased the Great 
Head of the Church to arrest his labors before they 
reached this point of consummation. During the 
month of August, 1820, the scourge which has so often 
desolated our city, made its appearance. On Sabbath, 
August 27, he preached from Phil. 1 : 21, " For me to 
live is Christ, and to die is gain ; " words alas ! prophetic 
of his speedy call to those mansions where all is "gain" 
forever to the believer. On the following Thursday, 
August 21, the very day on which he completed the 
twenty-fourth year of his age, he fell asleep in Jesus— 
or rather awoke to the glory and joy of his Lord. His 
remains were consigned to the tomb in Oirod Cemetery, 
with the Episcopal service for the dead rendered by the 
Kev. Dr. Hull. 

Mr. Larned's successor, after an interval of eighteen 
months, was the Rev. Theodore Clapp, a native of Mas- 
sachusetts, and a graduate of Yale College, and of the 
Theological Seminary at Andover. He was licensed by 
a Congregational Association, October, 1817; and was 
led providentially to Kentucky, by an engagement as 
private tutor in a family residing near Lexington, in 
that State. During the summer of 1821, he spent a few 
weeks at a watering place in Kentucky, and on the Sab- 
bath preached in one of the public rooms of the hotel to 
the assembled guests. This apparently casual circum- 
stance led to his settlement in JSTew Orleans. Amongst 
his hearers on that occasion, were two gentlemen from 
our city, trustees of Mr. Larned's church ; who, upon 
their return home, caused a letter to be written, inviting 
him to New Orleans. This invitation, at first declined, 



PRESBYTERIANISM IN NEW ORLEANS. 151 

led to a yisit to this city near the close of February, 
1822. 

On the third Sabbath after his arrival, he was unani- 
mously chosen to fill the vacant pulpit. Finding the 
church embarrassed by a debt of $45,000, he naturally 
hesitated, and finally made its liquidation the condition 
of his acceptance of the call. The method adopted for 
this purpose, though deemed proper at the time, would 
now be disallowed by the better educated conscience of 
the Church. The trustees made application to the Leg- 
islature of Louisiana, then in session, for a lottery ; 
which being sold to Yates & Mclntyre of New York, for 
$25,000, relieved the pressure of debt to that amount. 
For the remaining $20,000 the building was sold to 
Judah Touro, Esq.,*a merchant of wealth, whose mag- 
nificent charities have left his name in grateful remem- 
brance to the people of New Orleans. It may be well to 
state here, though a little in advance of dates, that Mr. 
Touro held the building to the time of its destruction 
by fire ; allowing the income from pew-rents to the use 
of the minister, and incurring the expense of keeping it 
in repair. He was Mr. Clapp's personal friend and 
benefactor throughout life ; and when the original build- 
ing was burnt, and long after it had been carried away 
from Presbyterians by Mr. Clapp's secession, Mr. Touro, 
we believe, built a small chapel for the Unitarian con- 
gregation, until a larger edifice could be erected for 
their accommodation. Such instances of princely 
munificence deserve to be engraved upon tablets of 
marble. But this is to anticipate. 

The first notice of the organization of this church, as 
a spiritual body, is in the record of a meeting held for 
this purpose on November 23, 1823. Prior to this, 
the labors of Mr. Larned, extending over a period of 
two years and seven months, from January 22, 1818, 



152 SEMI-CENTENNIAL OF 

to August 31, 1820; and those of Mr. Clapp over a 
period of one year and nine months, from March, 1822, 
to November, 1823, were simply evangelistic. A con- 
gregation had been gathered, a house of worship built, 
the word and sacrament administered, and the materials 
collected for the spiritual Church in the admission of 
persons to sealing ordinances; all in the exercise of 
that power which the Scriptures and our Presbyterian 
standards assign to the evangelist. The time had now 
arrived for the gathering up the results of these labors 
in a permanent and organized form. 

On the evening of November 23, 1823, just fifty 
years ago, at a meeting moderated by Eev. Mr. Olapp, 
nine males and fifteen females presented credentials of 
having been admitted to the sacrament of the Lord's 
supper, by Mr. Lamed, as follows: 

Males: — Alfred Hennen, James Eobinson, William 
Boss, Eobert H. McNair, Moses Cox, Hugh Fame, 
Eichard Pearse, John Spittal, John Rollins. Females : 
— Phebe Farrie, Catherine Hearsey, Celeste Hearsey, 
Doza A. Hearsey, Margaret Agur, Ann Eoss, Eliza Hill, 
Margaret McNair, Sarah Ann Harper, Ann Davison, 
Stella Mercer, Jane Eobinson, Eliza Baldwin, Mary 
Porter, Eliza Davidson. 

These persons, twenty-four in all, were formed into a 
church by the adoption of the Presbyterian standards 
in doctrine, government, discipline, and worship ; and 
by a petition to the Presbytery of Mississippi to be en- 
rolled among the churches under its care, with the style 
and title of " The Eirst Presbyterian Church in the city 
and parish of New Orleans." The organization was 
completed by the election on the same evening of four 
persons to be ruling elders, viz. : William Eoss, Moses 
Cox, James Eobinson, and Eobert H. McNair, who were 
accordingly ordained and installed on the following 
Sabbath, November 30, 1823. 



PRESBYTEEIANISM IN NEW ORLEANS. 153 

Mr. Clapp's ministry was a troubled one, from sus- 
picions entertained of his doctrinal soundness. From 
his own statements, as early as 1824, his faith was 
shaken as to the doctrine of the eternity of future pun- 
ishment. He pushed his investigations, doubts darken- 
ing upon him, through years, until at length he was 
forced to plant himself in open hostility to the whole 
Calvinistic Theology. It is not strange that inconsis- 
tent and wavering statements of truth should find their 
way into the ministrations of the pulpit, at the very 
time his faith was shaken in the tenets which he had 
subscribed, and when his own mind was working to an 
entire renunciation of them. A single crack in a bell is 
sufficient to destroy its tone ; and it is not surprising that 
some of his parishioners should miss that clear ring which 
the pulpit is expected to give forth. Certain it is, that 
the repose of the church was seriously disturbed for 
years by two parallel prosecutions before the Session 
against two prominent members of the church, one of 
them a ruling elder, grounded upon their undisguised 
dissatisfaction with the minister. In the course of these 
complicated proceedings, the Session, by death and dep- 
osition from offices, became reduced below a constitu- 
tional quorum ; which led, in March, 1828, to the elec- 
tion and ordination of five new elders, Alfred Hennen, 
Joseph A. Maybin, William W. Caldwell, Josiah 
Crocker, and Fabricius Eeynolds. 

On March 5, 1830, Mr. Clapp addressed a letter 
to the Presbytery of Mississippi, in which he says, " I 
have not found, and I at present despair of finding any 
text of Iloly Writ to prove unanswerably the distin- 
guishing tenets of Calvinism." He, therefore, solicited 
a dismission from the Presbytery to the Hampshire 
County Association of Congregational ministers in the 
State of Massachusetts. This dismission was refused by 



154: SEMI-CENTENNIAL OP 

the Presbytery, on the ground that it was inconsistent 
to dismiss, in good standing, to another body one whom 
they could no longer recognize in their own ; and they 
proceeded to declare Mr. Clapp no longer a member of 
their body, or a minister in the Presbyterian Church. 
A letter was also addressed to the church advising them 
of this action, and declaring the. pulpit yacant. No 
definite action was taken upon this communication of 
the Presbytery until January, 1831, when the Session 
proposed to take the mind of the church, whether to 
retain Mr. Clapp as their pastor, or to abide by the de- 
cision of the Presbytery and to sever that connection. 
This sifting process was, however, arrested by an excep- 
tion taken against this action and against the Presbyte- 
rial decree upon which it was based. By common 
consent, the case was carried over the intermediate 
court immediately to the General Assembly, which body 
sustained the exception, declaring " that, as Mr. Clapp 
had neither been dismissed nor suspended by the Pres- 
bytery, he ought to be regarded as a member of that 
body, and that in the opinion of the Assembly, they 
have sufficient reasons for proceeding to try him upon 
the charge of error in doctrine." 

The case being thus remanded to the Presbytery, had 
to be taken up anew. Meanwhile the agitation in the 
bosom of the church could not be allayed. On January 
13, 1832, fifteen members, including elders MaNTair 
and Caldwell, were dismissed at their request, for the 
purpose of forming another church upon the principles 
of the doctrine and discipline of the Presbyterian 
Church. This seceding body worshiped in a warehouse 
of Mr. Cornelius Paulding, opposite Lafayette square, 
on the site covered by the building in which we are now 
assembled. It enjoyed the services of the Rev. Mr. 
Harris; but the references to it are scant, and after a 



PRESBYTERIANISM IN NEW ORLEANS. 155 

brief and flickering existence, its elements were reab- 
sorbed into the First Church. Meanwhile the Presby- 
tery concluded its proceedings in the trial of Mr. Clapp, 
on January 10, 1833 ; when he was deposed from the 
office of the ministry, and his relations to the church, 
which had only been those of a stated supply and not 
of an installed pastor, were finally canceled. The roll 
of communicants, just before the secession in 1832, 
numbered eighty-nine. 

Presbyterianism had now to start anew, from a begin- 
ning quite as small as at first. The social and amiable 
qualities of Mr. Olapp endeared him greatly as a man ; 
the large majority of his hearers could not appreciate 
this clamor about doctrine ; and many of the truly pious 
were slow to credit the extent of his departure from the 
faith, and were disposed to sympathize with him as one 
unkindly persecuted. The few, therefore, who came 
forth, exactly nine, with the two elders, Hennen and 
Maybin, found themselves in the condition of seceders 
who were houseless in the streets. Fortunately a spirit- 
ual guide was immediately provided. The Rev. Joel 
Parker, in the service of the American Home Mission 
Society, being in the city, was at once solicited to be- 
come their stated supply. His connection began Jan- 
uary 12, 1833, and the little band worshiped alter- 
nately with the organization formed a year before under 
Mr. Harris, in the wareroom on Lafayette square. 
These two wings finally coalesced in 1835. In March, 
1834, Dr. Parker was unanimously chosen pastor, and 
on April 27th, was duly installed by the Presbytery of 
Mississippi. During this summer he was absent at the 
North, collecting funds for building a new house of 
worship. Some statements made by him to Northern 
audiences respecting the religious condition and neces- 
sities of New Orleans were grossly misrepresented in 



156 SEMI-CENTENNIAL OF 

the public prints. A violent excitement was created 
against him in the city, indignation meetings were held, 
and he was once or twice burnt in effigy by the popula- 
tion. The storm was met with great firmness and dignity 
by the church, which rallied around its pastor, produced 
written evidence that Dr. Parker had been entirely mis- 
represented, and contended earnestly for the exercise of 
their own religious rights. In a short time, the fierce 
opposition was quelled, and was eventually lived down. 

Upon the pastor's return in the autumn, worship was 
resumed in a room on Julia street until March 15, 
1835, when the basement of the new building on La- 
fayette square was first occupied. This edifice, so well 
remembered by many present, was erected at an original 
cost, including the site, of $57,616. Subsequent im- 
provements and enlargements, in 1844, with an addi- 
tional purchase of ground, amounted to over $17,000 
more ; making the whole cost of the church, which was 
destroyed by fire in 1854, $75,000. 

Dr. Parker's connection with the church extended 
over a period of five years and six months, from January 
12, 1833, to June 14, 1838, at which date he left, 
never to return. The pastoral relation was not, how- 
ever, dissolved till the spring of 1839. During his pas- 
torship, the church, was greatly prospered, having se- 
cured a commodious sanctuary, and showing, as early 
as 1836, a church -roll numbering one hundred and 
forty-two communicants. There were two elections of 
elders ; in 1834, Dr. John E. Moore, Frederic K. South- 
may d, and Truman Parmele being chosen to that office ; 
and in 1838, Stephen Franklin, John S. Walton, and 
James Beattie. 

The next incumbent of the pulpit was the Rev. Dr. 
John Breckinridge, with whom the church opened ne- 
gotiations in February, 1839. This gentleman was at 



PRESBYTERIANISM IN NEW ORLEANS. 157 

the time the Secretary of the Assembly's Board of 
Foreign Missions. In his letter to the church, dated 
May, 1839, he consents to serve it in conjunction with 
his secretaryship, from which his brethren were unwil- 
ling to release him, the Board giving him a dispensa- 
tion for six or seven months for this purpose. These 
conditions being accepted, Dr. Breckinridge spent the 
winter of 1839 in New Orleans; and still again the 
winter of 1840, till April of 1841. He was called to the 
eternal rest in August, 1841, retaining in his hand the 
call of this church, as pastor elect. His labors were 
fragmentary, but efficient ; and the church was left to 
mourn over hopes disappointed in his death. 

The attention of the church was soon turned to the 
Rev. Dr. W. A. Scott, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who was 
installed as pastor on March 19, 1843, and whose 
pastoral relation was formally dissolved in September, 
1855. His active connection with the church, however, 
began and closed earlier than these dates. His term of 
service, as pastor elect, began in the fall of 1842, and his 
active labors ceased in November, 1854, covering a 
period of twelve years. Dr. Scott's ministry was ex- 
ceedingly -productive, during which vigorous and con- 
stant efforts were made to build up the interests of Pres- 
byterianism in the city. These will be briefly sketched 
in the notices soon to be given of the other church organ- 
izations. The roll of communicants swelled, in 1844, 
to four hundred and thirty-nine, and before the close 
of his ministry to over six hundred. 

On July 20, 1845, Dr. J. M. W. Picton, and Charles 
Gardiner were ordained to the office of ruling elder; 
and Thomas Bowman and William P. Campbell, to that 
of deacon. On December 23, 1849, R. B. Shepherd, W. 
P. Campbell, and W. A. Bartlett were ordained to the 
eldership ; and W. H. Reese, L. L. Brown, and James 



158 SEMI-CENTENNIAL OF 

Eainey, to the diaconate ; and on November 28, 1852, 
the bench of deacons was increased by the installation 
of W. 0. Black, Robert A. Grinnan, and Simon De- 
visser, and of J. G. Dunlap, on January 23, 1853. 

The church edifice was burnt on October 29, 1854; 
and it is to the last degree creditable to the congrega- 
tion that amidst all the discouragements of a yacant 
bishopric and a congregation scattered, it should have 
proceeded at once to build another of larger proportions 
and more finished in style. In 1857, the house in which 
we are now assembled was finished and dedicated to the 
worship of God. Its cost, with all its appointments, 
was about $87,000. 

On September 21, 1854, a call was made out to the 
Rev. B. M. Palmer, of South Carolina, which, upon being 
presented before his Presbytery and Synod, was defeated 
by the refusal of those bodies to place it in his hands. 
The call was renewed on March 16, 1856, and prevailed. 
His labors began early in December of that year, and on 
the 28th of the same month he was installed by the 
Presbytery of New Orleans. After the lapse of seven- 
teen years, he is present to-night to read this record of 
God's exceeding faithfulness and mercy to His redeemed 
people. It is only proper to add, that the membership 
of this church, which, after Dr. Scott's withdrawal, was 
thrown down to three hundred and fifty, was carried up 
in 1861, just before the war, to five hundred and thirty- 
one. By the war, in 1866, it was again reduced to four 
hundred and thirty-six, and now reaches to six hundred 
and forty-eight. 

Three successful Mission schools are sustained and 
two buildings erected for their accommodation, one of 
these large and comfortable, at a cost of some $10,000. 
It is now sustaining a city missionary, which it has 
often done in the past, and always with marked results 



PKESBYTEKIANISM IN NEW OKLEANS. 159 

in the extension of the cause so dear to all our 
hearts. 

"We have preferred to give the history of this particular 
church without breaking its continuity. It is time, 
however, that we turn to the efforts of church extension, 
which will bring into view the other Presbyterian 
organizations in the city. 

The first effort in this direction was the employment, 
on January 30, 1840, by the Session of the First Church, 
of Eev. Jerome Twichell, as a city missionary, with four 
points of labor, viz. : in the lecture-room, to the colored 
people ; at Orleans Cotton Press to the seamen ; at the 
city prison, and in the District of Lafayette. Mr. 
Twichell began his work at once, opening a service in 
the house of Mrs. Dick, on February 4 — thirty per- 
sons being present. This was the germ of the Lafa- 
yette Presbyterian Church, now under the pastoral care 
of Kev. Dr. Markham. On March 1, divine service 
was transferred to the Lafayette Court-room. On March 
19, a meeting was held of the citizens of the district, 
to consider the erection of a church-edifice, which was 
prosecuted with such vigor, that in January, 1842, a 
house of worship was finished, at a cost of some $5,000, 
and dedicated, on Fulton street, between Josephine and 
St. Andrew. 

The Lafayette Church was not, however, organized 
till September -21, 1843, when twenty members of the 
First Church were set off as a colony for this purpose, 
Dr. John Rollins, Eichard Leech, and John Hume being 
the first elders. 

Rev. Jerome Twichell was elected pastor and installed, 
the first Sabbath in January, 1844, and continued in 
this relation till December 4, 1853 — ten years. 

His successor, Rev. J. Sidney Hays, was installed May 
7, 1854, who died of yellow fever, August 26, 1855, hav- 



ICO SEMI-CENTENNIAL OF 

ing served one year and four months. Sixteen months 
elapsed before the sad vacancy was filled. On Febru- 
ary 1, 1857, Rev. T. R. Markham, then a licentiate, was 
engaged as a supply for one year; on May 24 he was 
ordained as an evangelist; elected pastor, December 
20, and installed on January 24, 1858. His efficient 
ministry continues to the present time, covering a 
period of more than sixteen years. 

On Sabbath night, November 18, 1860, the church 
building was destroyed by fire, and the congregation 
assembled for worship in Union Hall on Jackson street, 
until the Federal occupation of the city, May, 1862. 
After the war, the church held its services in the First 
German Church on First street until April, 1867, when 
they entered their present comfortable and handsome 
building on Magazine street, above Jackson, which was 
dedicated on the following Sabbath, April 14. The 
cost of this structure, with ground, is about $45,000. 

The growth of this church, the first off- shoot from 
the parent church, was, at first, gradual and slow. In 
1844, the membership is reported to be twenty-three. 
In 1855, it had increased only to thirty-seven. In 1858, 
to fifty. In 1866, the first year after the war, the 
church-roll presents one hundred and thirty communi- 
cants, and in 1873, this number has increased to four 
"hundred and thirty-five. 

The next enterprise undertaken resulted in the or- 
ganization of what was known as the Second Church, at 
the corner of Prytania and Calliope streets, which is 
now extinct, the building having passed into the hands 
of another denomination. It appears from the minutes 
of the First Church, that on November 13, 1843, the 
Rev. R. L. Stanton, of Woodville, accepted an invitation 
to serve as a city missionary, and in April, 1845, twenty- 
two persons were set off as a nucleus to form the Second 



PEESBYTEEIANISM IN NEW OELEANS. 161 

Church, under Mr. Stanton, whose relations as a mis- 
sionary under Session of First Church ceased about May 
15 of the same year. Lots were purchased in 1844 on 
the corner of Prytania and Calliope streets, and a church 
building erected. Mr. Stanton resigned about 1852, to 
assume the presidency of Oakland College ; and in 1853 
his place was supplied by Kev. Dr. S. Woodbridge, who 
died in 1863. The enterprise was never a successful 
one, due, we think, in part to its location, which, after 
the inauguration of the Prytania Street Church, was 
something like a trough of the sea, between it and the 
First Church. After the war, the church was dissolved 
by act of Presbytery, its roll being transferred to the 
Thalia Street Church, except in cases where the mem- 
bers preferred to attach themselves elsewhere. 

The next enterprise undertaken laid the foundation 
of what is known as the Third Church. In the autumn 
of 1844, a few members of the First Church established 
a Sabbath school in the Third district, under the super- 
in tendency of Mr. F. Stringer. The ground floor of 
'No. 20 Moreau street was fitted up, and divine service 
conducted by Eev. E. E. Beadle, for about six months. 
The school was then removed to Mr. Elkin's house on 
Chartres street. In the fall of 1845, Eev. James Beattie 
took charge of the mission, and opened service in his- 
own house on Esplanade street, near Burgundy. On 
March 7, 1847, after a sermon by Eev. Dr. W. A. Scott, 
the Third Church was organized with a colony of 
eighteen members set off from the First Church, F. 
Stringer and C. 0. Lyon, elders, Mr. Beattie continuing 
in charge till 1850, when he removed with his family to 
the North. 

In 1848, a neat frame building, with about one hun- 
dred and fifty sittings, was erected on Casacalvo street, at 
an expense of some $2,500, which was occupied by the 



162 SEMI-CENTENNIAL OF 

congregation until the completion of its present large 
and tasteful house of worship on Washington square. 
This building was begun in 1858, and completed by 
January 1, 1860, at a cost of about $45,000. 

In December, 1850, Eev. D. S. Baker succeeded Mr. 
Beattie in the pulpit, and continued till August, 1852, 
Prom that time till February, 1854, the church was 
without a regular supply, when Bev. James Bichards 
became its pastor, which relation was terminated in 
March, 1855, about one year. From that time to Janu- 
ary, 1857, the church was served by Bey. N". G. North, 
at which date begins the term of its present pastor, the 
Bey. Dr. H. M. Smith, lasting now almost seventeen 
years. 

In 1850 the church reported a membership of forty- 
four; in 1855, a membership of forty- two; in 1857, a 
membership of fifty-three ; in 1860, a membership of 
seventy-one; and now, of one hundred and two. F. 
Stringer and "W. C. Baymond, elders. 

The growth of this church is impaired by the constant 
tendency of English-speaking residents to move above 
Canal street. 

These three churches were directly colonized from the 
First Church. The Prytania Street organization was 
an independent movement, originating nearly at the 
same time and in the same way with the Third Church. 
A mission Sabbath school was started up town. In 
1846, three lots were purchased for $1,285, at the corner 
of Prytania and Josephine streets, and a small frame 
building erected at a cost of $1,342, which has since 
been enlarged into their present lecture room. The 
Bev. E. B. Beadle, brought here by the First Church as 
a city missionary in conjunction with the editorship of 
the Neto Orleans Protestant, was identified with the 
movement from the beginning. On May 31, 1846, the 



PEESBYTEEIANISM IN NEW OELEANS. 163 

church was organized by the Presbytery of Louisiana, 
with twelve members, six male and six female ; of whom 
three were from the First Church, two from the Second, 
and seven from the Fulton Street, now the Lafayette 
Church. Mr. David Hadden was the first elder, and 
H. T. Bartlett the first deacon. In June, Mr. Beadle 
was chosen pastor, who served six years, until Septem- 
ber, 1852. During his term, the present church build- 
ing was erected, in the winters of 1848-9, at a cost of 
$14,040 ; and the membership was increased from twelve 
to one hundred and thirty. 

The second pastor, Rev. Isaac Henderson, was called 
in November, 1852, and served till April, 1865, a period 
of twelve years and six months. During an interval of 
twenty months, the pulpit was supplied by the Rev. B. 
Wayne and Rev. W. F. V. Barlett, till December 9, 
1866, when Rev. R. Q. Mallard, the present pastor, was 
installed. 

The increase of its communicants is as follows: At 
its organization, in 1846, twelve; on September 21, 
1852, one hundred and thirty; on April 2, 1855, two 
hundred and eleven; on March 30, 1857, one hundred 
and ninety-eight ; on December 9, 1866, when present 
pastorship began, one hundred and fifty-seven; at the 
present time, two hundred and twenty-eight. 

In January, 1854, a colony of seventeen Germans, 
gathered in by Mr. Young, as colporteur, was set off to 
form the First German Church, which, though now in 
connection with the Northern Assembly, is the direct 
fruit of missionary labor by Presbyterians in this city. 

In 1860, also, a colony of twelve was set off, with Mr. 
H. T. Bartlett at its head, to reinforce the Thalia Street 
Church. It now maintains a flourishing mission Sab- 
bath school, and has erected a suitable building for the 
same. 



164 SEMI-CEXTEXXIAl OF 

Through the agency of a general committee of do- 
mestic missions, chapels were erected on Canal street, 
corner of Franklin; on Thalia street, corner of Frank- 
lin ; in Jefferson City, and in Carrollton. Their cost 
cannot well be ascertained, the records of this committee 
haying been lost. The property in each case has been 
conveyed to the congregations worshiping therein, as 
soon as incorporated. 

As early as 1845, Eev. rs~oah F. Packard preached in 
the Canal Street Chapel, and died of yellow fever in 
1846. On April 11, 1847, a church was organized by 
the Presbytery of Louisiana, known as the Fourth 
Church, with nine members, of whom rive were from the 
First Church, and four were from abroad. Heman 
Packard was the first elder, and Alexander Eeid the 
first deacon. 

On March 1, 1848, a call was made to Eev. Henry Gr. 
Blinn, a licentiate, which was renewed November 27 
of the same year, from which moment his name disap- 
pears from the record. 

On March 12, 1854, Eev. William McConnell was 
chosen pastor, the membership being twenty-five, which 
soon increased to fifty-two, and in 1857 to sixty-nine; 
Tiall, Young, and Henderson being added to the elder- 
ship. 

Eev. Gaylord L. Moore succeeded Mr. McConnell as 
pastor from 1858 to May, 1863. During his administra- 
tion a new and large church was built, at a cost of over 
840,000, on the corner of Gasquet and Liberty streets, 
the basement of which was occupied in May, 1860, and 
the church itself dedicated in Xovember of the same 
year. Mr. Moore returned in the autumn of 1865, after 
the war, and remained in charge of the pulpit till June, 
1868. He was succeeded in December of that year by 
Eev. A. F. Dickson, whose term of service continued 



PRESBYTERIANISM IN NEW ORLEANS. 165 

three years. Under a financial pressure, the church 
building was sold in May, 1871, and a better location 
purchased, and a new but smaller building erected, at 
the corner of -Canal and Derbigny streets. The enter- 
prise is now free from debt, and only needs a faithful 
pastor in order to spring forth upon a more hopeful 
career. Its present membership is one hundred and 
thirty-five. 

An attempt to organize a church in the Thalia Chapel 
was made by Kev. N. G-. North, as early as January 16, 
1853, with seventeen members. The organization was 
not completed by the election of elders, and appears to 
have lapsed. An irregular mission was maintained, 
principally through a Sabbath school, till June, 1860; 
when a church was fully organized by the Presbytery 
with twelve members set off from Prytania Street con- 
gregation, and two additional on profession. H. T. 
Bartlett and A. D. Donovan were the first elders ; A. E. 
Gillett, P. Beaumont, and J. A. Hall, the first deacons. 

The infant church was served by Eev. Dr. Wm. Fisher, 
from November, 1860, to May 30, 1861. On October 
27, 1861, Eev. W. A. Hall was called to the pastorate, 
and resigned October 25, 1866, five years. On Decem- 
ber 12, 1867, Eev. W. C. Dunlap became the supply, and 
closed his connection, October 4, 1868. On February 
5, 1869, Eev. Wm. Flinn was chosen pastor, and was in- 
stalled in the April following. During this pastorate, 
which still happily continues, one hundred and six have 
been added to the church membership, of whom seventy- 
three have been received on profession of faith. The 
congregation has built a comfortable parsonage, and 
hopes soon to erect a new house of worship, corner of 
Franklin and Euterpe streets, for which it has funds in 
bank between $15,000 and $16,000, and for which its 
present property will be further available. 



166 SEMI-CENTENNIAL OF 

In the Bouligny chapel, built 1850, an irregular mis- 
sion was conducted with varying success, till 1860, when 
regular preaching was begun there by Eev. B. Wayne. 
In May, 1861, a church was organized by the Presbytery 
of New Orleans, now known as the Napoleon Avenue 
Church, with twenty members, John Dyer, the only elder. 
The war came on, and everything was suspended ; on 
the return of peace, services were resumed, and have 
since been regularly maintained. In March, 1870, the 
present location on Napoleon avenue was purchased; 
in December, 1871, a new brick building was com- 
menced, and sufficiently finished in July, 1872, to be 
occupied, in a rude and incomplete condition. During 
the past season it has been entirely finished, and in Sep- 
tember, 1873, was publicly dedicated, free of debt, to the 
worship of Almighty God. This handsome structure, 
with all its appointments, and with the ground on which 
it stands, has cost the sum of $18,000, a monument to 
the liberality of our people, and to the enterprise and 
zeal of the pastor and congregation who have persist- 
ently carried it through. Chiefly since the war, one 
hundred and forty-eight persons have been received 
into its membership, of whom one hundred and eleven 
were on profession of faith. The present roll numbers 
seventy members. Messrs. G. W. H. Marr aud S. McGin- 
nis are the elders. 

On September 1, 1855, a church was organized by the 
Presbytery, at Carrollton, with seventeen members, of 
whom seven were from the First Church, nine from 
the Prytania Street Church, and one from the Second 
Church ; J. S. McComb, H. T. Bartlett, and B. G. Bat- 
ting were chosen elders. On February 4, 1856, Bev. 
N. P. Chamberlain was chosen pastor, and served in this 
relation till January 31, 1858, a period of two years. 
The pulpit was kept open by supplies, principally Bev. 



PRESBYTERIANISM IN NEW ORLEANS. 167 

Dr. J. R. Hutchison, Principal of Belle Grove Collegiate 
Institute, till everything was broken up by the war, and 
Dr. Hutchison removed to Houston. In 1866, it appear- 
ing that the church had been so reduced that there were 
no elders, and not even a male member, Carroll ton was 
taken under care of the Presbytery as a Mission station, 
and is at present held as such against a better time for 
re-organization. It enjoys the efficient labors of Elder 
Joseph A. Maybin, which have been greatly blessed, and 
yield promise that the church may at no distant day be 
revived. 

In this roll of our churches must be added the Second 
German Church, organized during the war; with its 
pastor, Rev. F. 0. Koelle, and a membership of fifty-six, 
it is now in full connection with the Presbytery of New 
Orleans. Its handsome and commodious*house of wor- 
ship is on lower Claiborne street. 

The limits within which we are restrained will not 
suffer any mention to be made of the efforts to establish 
a religious newspaper, and also a Depository; except to 
say, that after innumerable backsets, they have both 
proved successful; the Synod of Mississippi being in 
possession of a valuable property in its Depository build- 
ing, and also of an able and influential paper, edited by 
the Rev. Dr. Smith. 

Prom this meager sketch, we may gather some im- 
pression of the growth of Presbyterianism in this city. 
In 1818, it started from nothing ; in 1823, the church 
re-organized with twenty-four members. Ten years later 
it found itself thrown back upon this identical number, 
and was forced to begin anew in the midst of feuds and 
dissensions, and with its good name discredited before 
the world. Our real progress dates from 1833, start- 
ing with twenty-four; to-day, after the lapse of forty 
years, we count nine organized churches, including the 



168 SEMI-CENTENNIAL OP 

First German ; which, though it has bolted, and is now 
under the jurisdiction of the Northern Assembly, is 
nevertheless a part of this historical development and a 
fruit of missionary zeal put forth by ourselves. In ad- 
dition, there are two or three hopeful Mission stations, 
where the experience of the past justifies the expectation 
that they will eventually crystallize into churches. Our 
original number of twenty-three has increased nearly to 
two thousand communicants ; and with about two thou- 
sand three hundred children in our various Sabbath 
schools. "Though our beginning was small, yet our 
latter end hath greatly increased." We may truly say 
with the Patriarch Jacob, " with my staff I passed over 
this Jordan, and now I am become two bands." Surely 
on this Fiftieth Anniversary, we may exclaim, looking 
back over the past, " What hath God wrought ! " With 
our present point of support, and the immense leverage 
we have thereby gained, what may not be accomplished 
during the fifty years which are to come! May God 
give to us, and to those who shall succeed us, grace to 
fulfill the precious and solemn trust; that when the 
Century of Presbyterianism shall be observed here, " the 
handful of corn," sown by our fathers " upon the top of 
the mountain," may be seen in " its fruit to shake like 
Lebanon " — and " they of the city to flourish like grass 
of the earth!" 

Rev. Wm. Plinn read the Hymn, 

" Glorious things of thee are spoken, 
Zion, City of our God," 

and the congregation rose and sang. 

REMINISCENCES. 

The venerable Joseph A. Maybin, for forty-five years 
a ruling elder, and the oldest surviving member of 



PBESBYTEBIANISM IN NEW OELEANS. 169 

this church, followed, with interesting personal remi- 
niscences, beginning with Larned's arrival in the city, 
January 22, 1818. 

The following is a synopsis. 

At that time there was little of the city this side of 
Canal street. There was then only one Protestant 
church below Canal, and that was Episcopal, situated 
on the corner of Bourbon and Canal streets. 

Sylvester Larned, the first Presbyterian minister, ar- 
rived in this city about the time that the present min- 
ister of the First Presbyterian Church was born. The 
Kev. Mr. Hull, the Episcopal minister, generously per- 
mitted the use of his church to the Presbyterians from 
one until four in the afternoon, at which hours Mr. 
Larned would preach. His eloquence soon attracted 
attention, and an effort was made to erect a Presbyte- 
rian place of worship. Some were of the opinion that 
New Orleans could not support two Protestant places 
of worship — the city was too small for that — yet, not- 
withstanding, the Presbyterians were successful in ob- 
taining a j>lace of worship on the site of the building 
now occupied by Stauffer, Macready & Co., on Canal 
street. 

Mr. Larned attended the Presbytery of Mississippi 
the year before his death. While there, the yellow fever 
broke out in the city, and he was advised, by his trustees 
and the physicians, not to return to New Orleans until 
the danger had passed. To this he consented reluc- 
tantly; and his sensitive spirit, being galled by the re- 
proach that he had fled .from the fever, the next year he 
stood at his post like the brave man that he was. His 
sense of honor would not allow him to leave, and he 
remained in New Orleans to die. Erom the little one- 
story building on Camp street, nearly opposite the up- 
per corner of Lafayette square, within a square of this 



170 SEMI-CENTENNIAL OE 

church, all that remained of Sylvester Laj _ied was con- 
veyed to the G-irod street cemetery. 

He was a man of strong social feelings, peculiarly 
adapted to please the Southern people. He had a heart 
"broad as the heavens and deep as the ocean." His 
brow was open, his eye gentle, features intellectual; 
in person reminding you of the Apollo Belvidere; of a 
sweet and affectionate disposition, and a " silver-tongued 
voice " that rolled music, and captivated all his hearers. 
Said a distinguished judge once of him, "I cannot go to 
hear that young man because he makes me shed tears." 

Mr. Clapp was a great conversationalist. His style 
of delivery was inrpressive and eloquent. His mind 
was neither analytical nor logical, still less, profound. 
He impressed his audience and had many warm per- 
sonal friends, whom he retained even after he left this 
city, and who generously contributed to his support until 
his death at Louisville in 1866. 

The Eev. Mr. Parker, who followed Mr. Clapp, 
walked from his home in Vermont to Union College at 
Schenectady, New York. He represented to the pro- 
fessors that his father was a poor farmer and a revolu- 
tionary soldier, that he could not afford to furnish the 
money required for his educatiou, but that if they 
would give him work, he would try and repay them for 
the trouble and expense of his graduation. The pro- 
fessors were pleased with his determination, and Parker 
studied for the ministry. He was a man of great de- 
cision of character, vigorous and logical, plain in person, 
not prepossessing in feature, and not calculated to ob- 
tain and keep personal friends. Yet he was a man 
spoken of as having the highest order of talent as a 
minister of the Gospel. 

In the summer of 1831 he was sent North to 
solicit subscriptions in the larger cities, for the 



PRESBYTERIANISM IN NEW ORLEANS. 171 

purpose of obtaining, if possible, a sum sufficient to 
finish the church then building. "While on the tour it 
was represented that he had stated "that there were 
forty thousand Catholics in the city of New Orleans 
who were atheists, and that the Protestants were no 
better." This statement was published in the news- 
papers and copied into the New Orleans Bulletin, 
creating great excitement and indignation. Mr. Parker 
replied to the charges made in one of the newspapers 
North, denying that he had made any such statement. 
The Mayor of this city advised that " that priest " be 
sent away, and — if Mr. Maybin was not mistaken — a 
proclamation was issued commanding the peace. When 
it was known that he was returning to this city word 
was sent to the Balize that he be landed before the ar- 
rival of the packet in New Orleans, and Mr. Parker was 
accordingly put off at the English turn. The next day 
he arrived in New Orleans, and appeared upon the 
streets to vindicate his innocence. A meeting was called 
the next day at the City Hotel, at which Mr. Parker 
was requested to explain. He made a clear statement, 
but the people were not satisfied. Eesolutions were drawn 
up and passed, that he leave the city, that the elders of 
the church dismiss him, etc. A meeting of the members 
of the church was immediately called. Fifty attended. 
They one and all supported Mr. Parker as being in the 
right. They all believed his representation made at 
the City Hotel, and declared they had a right to have 
for a pastor whom they pleased, and they intended to 
maintain that right; and they did, and Mr. Parker was 
retained. That was a trying hour in the history of the 
Protestant Church in this city, but the storm was 
weathered. If Mr. Parker was abandoned, what secu- 
rity had other pastors that they would be retained. 
They were weak, feeble, discouraged, but they stood 



172 SEMI-CENTENNIAL OP 

their ground and conquered. Like the weak little band 
of Apostles on the sea of Galilee when they called upon 
the Saviour to stay the storm, while the waves ran 
mountain high and threatened to dash their little bark 
to pieces, the storm was hushed by the Master. He- 
said to the waves " be still," and they went down. He 
bade the winds to cease, and they slept as gently as a 
babe upon the bosom of its mother. 

Kev. Dr. John Breckinridge, descended from the 
pioneer stock of Kentucky heroes, was the next pastor. 
A courteous and polished gentleman, with a sweet voice 
and a flow of native eloquence, but a feeble frame ; his 
brief pastorate was soon closed by death. His successor 
was Kev. W. A. Scott, who at the age of eighteen, en- 
tered the army as Chaplain, by appointment from Presi- 
dent Jackson, and was thus enabled to save sufficient 
money to finish his theological education at Princeton. 

Mr. Scott was called to this position from the 
pastoral charge of the church at Tuscaloosa, Ala., 
his Presbytery, as in the case of the present pastor, 
having at first refused to place the call in his hands. 
Dr. Scott was an attractive and eloquent preacher, 
distinguished for his ability to set forth the truth by 
illustrations drawn from all sources, whether from na- 
ture or the customs and institutions of men. 

In referring to those who rendered most effective 
co-operation in building up Presbyterianism in New 
Orleans he paid a passing tribute to the late Nathan 
Goodale, elder of the Lafayette Church — "whose every 
vein was filled with philanthropy." All honor to the 
little band of twenty-four, who comprised the original 
church organization — would you see their monument — 
look around upon this congregation ! " Are they not 
at this moment, while singing their songs of everlast- 
ing praise — looking down on this scene from Heaven ? * 



PEESBYTEEIANISM IN NEW ORLEANS. 173 

You see before you the last elder of that band — 
standing as an isthmus between the present and the 
past, the last connecting link. It is to me a crushing 
thought. 

On this occasion, and it may be my last opportunity, 
I desire to return my humble and heartfelt thanks 
to the pastor, elders, and members of this church for 
all the kindness I have ever received at their hands. 

And. now I want to declare that it is my wish to 
die in the service of this honored church ; and that 
my children and children's children may die in the 
same faith. I stand here — a brand snatched from the 
burning. And when I die let it be inscribed on my 
coffin over my heart, "It is a faithful saying and 
worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into 
the world to save sinners, of whom I — I — I — am chief! " 

The congregation then sang, 

" I love thy Kingdom, Lord." 
Dr. Smith then read the following historical paper : 

THE OEIGIN AND GEOWTH OF PEESBTTEEIANISM Itf 
THE SOUTHWEST. 

The history of our Church in New Orleans, belongs 
to the history of the Church in the Southwest. "We shall 
better appreciate the significance of the chapter which 
concludes our work, if we glance at the more general 
movement of which it forms such an important part. 
To do this, we must go back into the past more than 
a quarter of a century before our work in the city was 
organized; even to the times when the tide of our 
immigration was first turned in this direction. 

The settlement of the Southwest was much encour- 
aged by the policy of the British Government. At the 
close of the French war of 1763, she obtained the 



17-4 c - v---"^: '77i- :~ 

Naichez country and East and West Florida. West 
Florida was attached to the Xatchez conntry, and set- 

liii; -f::- aiiiniil Ij iilrizi rums :: iuzi. 

— 1: — zziiliiiLzi'iiiiT — ;: ;-.-.:- — .-.: ;; :1 T Et~:- 
lntion was, that this conntry was ceded back to Spain. 
~'~~ Haniiiz iriLZiiij :iii. e1-i: ami :. Siaiiiiii ?::~:i :i. 
- : nii:i~il :: :t ::: "1:117 "ins. 3~ ii:i St .\zii=:i 
..-".::'-: ;.::-:_: ~: :.;iiii "as inurl :: lr a 
::"--— mi :z'^=r. Iziriiiran: 1;.— ~-n i:ia:i-l anl :r- 
n:i;iii~iT :::;::eL Tiir-i :7.aniis :: :-, i-inri™ ;.r: 
Pris >::::. v_> ai Xa::liiz ;:/il n:i — irsiiii 1:1 — iii:- 
c~: :. -t:.:::^ ;.: :i:i l::r i: ~:.tz. liiini ::' lanrir. 
!..-:_; i-zii::il in :iii= ::-t — in ainsnl. :hr:^i 
"in:: a ±l:iiT rrism Tuirli 1:117 ran ':. mis n:: :: riiiai 
1J11 :f:: ; :. :.:: 1 —in :'— 'i aimil :: :.t:t;::". ;::-;: ::z:: 
this offense to be seri fcc the mines ::" Mexico Manj 
were imprisoned. Among those imprisoned for holding 
111711-mnin n ~i= J: iii I :'".:. : ::li_ :ili: : ill 
1 noyterian Church, from Sorth Carolina, who had 
si-i-i :i ii. liir EiTriniii-Liij ~ ai. 

John Bolls was not destined to slavery in the mines 
: Mexico, for this distressing state of things at 
length came to an end. On the night of March i . 
1798, the Spanish commandant evacuated the post. 
i\i: n. ::_:m :!: A:iiiii:a:i lag ± :anl ±:m m —ail; 
of Fort St Rosalie, and religions liberty fonnd shelter 
1 t:ii:,:_ it; ::ii ; . 

It would be hard to ennmerate the varions lontes by 
which yon may gain access to the Southwest now, but 
in the year a. d. 1800, the best known land route was 
a bridle path. The Xatchez trace was an Indian trail 

back or on foot. It passed through tangled forests and 

by bands of lawless desperadoes, more dreaded than the 



PKESBYTEKIANISM IN NEW OKLEANS. 175 

Indians themselves. Along this friendless path came 
Hall, Montgomery, and Bowman, missionaries sent from 
the Synod of the Carolinas. Amidst the perils of this 
adventurous journey they found, at Pontotoc, Joseph 
Bullen, missionary to the Indians, sent there by the 
New York Missionary Society in 1797, and after meet- 
ing this sympathizing laborer they entered again on 
their perilous journey, evaded death and outstripped 
starvation, and, finally, reached Natchez, the field of 
their future labors. These were the pioneers of our 
Church in the Southwest. 

At that time there were about seven thousand Ameri- 
cans in the province. From many of these the mission- 
aries met a cordial reception. With Natchez as their 
headquarters, they entered on their work, and visited 
the settlements, and established preaching places ; 
gathering up the scattered Presbyterians and forming 
them into communities, soon to grow up into organized 
churches. In a year or two they returned home. But 
Joseph Bullen, the Indian missionary, took up the work 
they had begun. Coming southward in 1803, he preached 
with great acceptability to these congregations. And in 
A. d. 1804, it was his privilege to organize the first Pres- 
byterian church established in the Southwest. It was 
well named Bethel. It has survived, too, the many 
changes that have intervened, and is existing still. 

For years afterwards, the Synod of the Carolinas con- 
tinued to send missionaries to this field, and other 
churches were organized from time to time. At length 
the need of Presbyterial jurisdiction came to be felt. 
At that time the general jurisdiction of this region was 
vested in the Synod of Kentucky. Ten years after the 
first church was organized, the Synod of Kentucky was 
overtured to establish the Presbytery of Mississippi, 
which was done A. d. 1815. And the name of John 



176 SEMI-CENTENNIAL OP 

Bolls stands first on the list of its ruling elders, as the 
representative of the first church organized in the South- 
west. 

In the year 1818, the honored name of Sylvester 
Larned was added to the list of its members. And in 
1823 the Presbyterian Church in New Orleans was 
placed upon its roll, and two important streams of in- 
fluence coalesced, to form thereafter but one current of 
moral energy. 

The Presbytery of Mississippi, when organized, formed 
part of the Synod of Kentucky. The movement of 
population, and the expansion of our church, involved 
certain changes in its subsequent relations. In 1817, 
it was associated with the Synod of Tennessee. In 
1826, we find it placed upon the roll of the Synod of 
West Tennessee. But in 1829, in connection with other 
Presbyteries, which appear to have been set off from its 
territory, it was erected into a Synod, called the Synod 
of Mississippi and South Alabama. In 1835, three 
Presbyteries were set off from this growing Synod to 
form the Synod of Alabama, and from that time it is 
known as the Synod of Mississippi. G-od so prospered 
this Synod, that in 1847 it became necessary to divide 
it again, and four more Presbyteries were set off to form 
the Synod of Memphis. And in 1851, three more of its 
Presbyteries were erected into the Synod of Texas. And 
in 1852, out of the territory ceded to the Synod of 
Memphis, there was formed still another Synod, the 
Synod of ArTcansas. 

In the light of this interesting record, the unity of 
sentiment and harmony of purpose which have hitherto 
prevailed among us in the Southwest, cannot seem sur- 
prising. Our membership is largely drawn by descent 
from the Presbyterian stock of the best of the older com- 
munities ; bound together by strong ecclesiastical fam- 



PRESBYTERIANISM IN NEW ORLEANS. 177 

ily-ties ; linked together in common interests, and labor- 
ing shoulder to shoulder in a common cause ; we con- 
stitute, to a large extent, a homogeneous Presbyterianism, 
whose moral influence, if combined and wisely directed, 
must prove a permanent benefit to the world. 

The piety of those formative times was bold and ag- 
gressive. For many years, while the country as yet was 
new, camp-meetings were annually held at some central 
point, easy of access to a wide region of country. To 
these points people from long distances would come, to 
spend a week or two in waiting on God, and seeking 
his face. Immense assemblies would congregate in 
these cathedrals of the wilderness, and great religious 
revivals were often the result. The utmost decorum 
prevailed on such occasions, and unbounded hospitality 
made all comers welcome. It was not unusual for the 
Presbyteries to convene at these meetings. And on one 
occasion, as we told, a meeting of the Synod was held. 

The style of doing the work of the Gospel was adapted 
to the needs of the times. And the work was blessed. 
These meetings were not discontinued until facilities 
for public worship became more abundant, when the 
necessity for them had accordingly passed away. 

The spirit of the Synod, also, was a missionary spirit. 
With such men as Montgomery, Smylie, Kingsbury, 
Alfred "Wright, Moore, and Chase, men of apostolic zeal, 
amongst its members, it could not be otherwise. Such 
men prosecuted their missionary work under its juris- 
diction. After the manner of the Synod of the Oaro- 
linas, it sent out its evangelists into the broad domain 
of Texas, as soon as the Eepublic was established. And 
we find it overturing the Assembly to consider the ques- 
tion of sending missionaries to Mexico and Oregon. It 
never shrunk from the call to press the evangelistic 
work in any direction. So that, in the course of time, 



178 SEMI-CENTENNIAL OP 

there has passed under its jurisdiction a territory which 
stretches from Georgia to the Eio Grande, and which 
reaches northward far enough to include the State of 
Arkansas, and the Indian nation. • 

Texas will have a religious history of its own, and it 
will be characteristic, as it ought to be. It will be 
found that it was born in battle — the offspring of that 
struggle for constitutional liberty which planted Travis, 
Bonham, and Crockett, with their little band of heroes, 
in the path of the ferocious army of Santa Anna. The 
massacre of the Alamo, in 1836, was undoubtedly the 
Thermopylae of civil and religious liberty for the far 
Southwest. 

That form of Christianity will best succeed among 
its diversified and scattered communities which most 
clearly enunciates the simple principles of the Gospel, 
and best illustrates the power of vital godliness. In 
these respects, it seems to us, our Church in that State 
has a great work before it. So we find one little band 
borrowing the use of a blacksmith's shop to inaugurate 
public worship, then and there laying the foundations 
of an important and influential church. Elsewhere we 
see some Scotch-Irish elder assembling his neighbors 
in his house for prayer- meetings, and laying the founda- 
tions of another church. And again, we find the un- 
converted son of pious parents appalled by the sur- 
rounding destitutions, feeling that the responsibility 
for the continuance of this spiritual ignorance rests on 
his own conscience, essaying to meet it by establishing 
Sabbath-schools and Bible-classes ; and carrying them 
on, to the best of his ability, until such time as it may 
please God to relieve him from the duty, which God so 
mysteriously laid upon him. In so far as our people 
courageously accept these allotments of Providence, 
they represent a form of Christianity full of vital force 



PRESBYTERIANISM IN NEW ORLEANS. 179 

and growth, and set forth, by pure principles and a con- 
sistent, earnest activity, that blessed Gospel which in 
all possible emergencies is the one thing needful for 
man. JSTo one can tell how much, and in how many 
instances, the Gospel has been, and still is, proclaimed 
in our sister State through such unpretending but 
noble instruments. The coming years will rejoice in 
the harvest, but the names of those who planted for it, 
it must be left for eternity to disclose. 

It becomes us, also, to refer with gratitude to the re- 
sults of our work, as a Church, among the Indian tribes 
of the Southwest. It is a much greater work than is 
generally known. There is far more piety and Chris- 
tian character, and a far greater knowledge and appre- 
ciation of Christian truth, among the tribes brought 
into contact with the institutions of Christianity than 
is believed by the uninformed. In the bounds of the 
Creek nation, the Baptists report twenty-four ordained 
Indian preachers, some of whom are well known Creek 
and Seminole chiefs. The Methodist Church South 
can claim a similar record. From the times of Joseph 
Bullen, the Indian missionary and founder of the First 
Presbyterian Church in the Southwest, until to-day, our 
church has evinced a deep and constant interest in the 
welfare of those tribes. Perhaps the most important 
mission work among them is conducted by the South- 
ern Presbyterian Church. And what is the result of 
these various labors ? It is this. They have printing- 
presses, newspapers, and books; they have preachers of 
their own race — men of culture, piety, and moral power; 
and, in proportion to their population, the people of the 
Indian nation have more schools, more churches, attend 
more largely religious worship, and contribute more 
money for religious purposes than the people of any 
Territory in the United States. 



180 SEMI-CENTEKNIAL OF 

It is a strange mistake to suppose that the nature of 
the Indian cannot be brought under the power of the 
principles of the Gospel. At a Bible Anniversary in one 
of our Western cities not long since, one of those Indian 
chiefs stepped forward, and with intense feeling, said, 
"When I come from among my people and visit the 
cities, I hear white men debating, whether it is of any 
use to send the Gospel to the heathen ? Some seem to 
think that it is of no use ; that the Gospel cannot con- 
vert the heathen. It is of use to send the Gospel to 
the heathen. I and my people were heathen ; we be- 
lieved in all its silly and degrading superstitions ; we 
worshiped we knew not what ; we knew of no future 
for the soul ; we were without God and without hope. 
But now the true light shines among us. We know and 
love God, and we live in hope of a happy home beyond 
the grave. This is what the Gospel has done for us. 
Let no man doubt that the Gospel has power to convert 
the heathen ! I was a heathen, and it converted me." 

Who shall gainsay such testimony to the work which 
it has pleased God to accomplish, by those who have 
preceded us in this field? 

Our Church in the Southwest may not boast of having 
achieved all that it aimed to achieve. Perhaps a sense 
of comparative failure and shortcoming has attended 
its most successful enterprises. Nevertheless, there is 
much to gratify a Christian heart in the contrast be- 
tween its present efficiency and its humble origin. 
There is no great interval between the extensive relig- 
ious liberty and influence which we enjoy to-day, and 
that Spanish prison at Natchez — and the connection is 
not hard to trace. It is only another illustration of 
God's fidelity in rewarding the devotedness of his ser- 
vants. John Bolls' prayer-meeting led him to a Spanish 
prison seventy- five years ago; and slavery in the mines 



PRESBYTERIANISM IN NEW ORLEANS. 181 

of Mexico seemed to be the inevitable result of them. 
But where duty to God is concerned, the apparent result 
is often yastly different from the actual result. Could 
he have looked through the bars of his prison on the 
field of religious activity, of which that prison was de- 
stined to be the center — could his eye have pierced the 
veil of three-quarters of a century, he would have seen 
this wide territory covered with a goodly family of five 
Synods, twenty Presbyteries, and nearly six hundred 
churches ; together with all the multiform kinds of 
moral, benevolent, and religious enterprises which they 
represent or sustain. 

The history of the world does not often produce, in 
such a limited period, and from such a despised begin- 
ning, a more glorious result. 

Yet this was not merely the work of one man, nor is 
it the mere development of any one line or form of effort. 
Many a worker wrought in that field — each in his own 
sphere, at his own work, in his own way — known or un- 
known, scattered or united, organized or unorganized 
— but each and all for the Lord. And by the myste- 
rious control of an Almighty hand, all things, whether 
good or evil, or the work of friend or foe, were ruled 
and overruled, and made to combine and co-operate to 
accomplish his gracious purpose. 

The future may have great things in store for us, but 
it can teach us no better than the past has taught us, 
that great lesson that fidelity to God is not lost — 
neither is it to be held as of little moment, though it be 
obscure and seemingly uninfluential. However trivial 
it may seem, each particular and individual movement 
must live till it obeys the laws of a divine attraction, and 
combines with a greater, which shall lead it on till it 
co-operate even with the greatest. 

We may be as insignificant as the raindrop on the 



182 PEESBYTEBIANISM IN NEW OELEANS. 

mountain side ; yet that drop must not perish till it 
blends with others, and compels the rivulet to spring 
into being. And the rivulets can find no rest, until they 
make to bound forth into life the growing river, wealth- 
bearing and life-producing. Nor can the rivers return or 
cease, till they have mingled their mighty burdens on 
the bosom of the deep. And so the act of fidelity and 
the prayer of faith; the godly life and the preached 
word; prayer-meetings and Sunday-schools will join 
and conjoin, and operate and co-operate, increase and 
multiply, overleap all restraints, and in their ebb and 
flow bear down and continue to bear down all opposing 
forces. Out of the feeble will come the strong, and from 
the bosom of patience shall leap forth might ; till the 
grace of God shall sweep over society like the tides 
of the ocean in their strength ; till the knowledge of 
God shall fill and cover the earth ; till the time shall 
come, when rejoicing angels shall declare,'"' It is finished," 
" The kingdoms of this world have become the empire 
of our God." 

Dr. T. E. Markham, and Rev. R. Q, Mallard delivered 
addresses admirably illustrating the aggressive move- 
ment of the Church, through the two arms of her ser- 
vice, the pastorship, and the pulpit; the one urging 
home the Gospel to the heart of the individual, in per- 
sonal intercourse ; the other, in the stated systematic 
presentation of truth to the masses. 

The audience then rose and sung 

" All hail the power of Jesus' name." 

The benediction was then pronounced by Rev. W. 
Minn. 



TEXAS. 



If you look at the map, you will see that the Gulf of 
Mexico is somewhat in the shape of a horse-shoe. Its 
opening is defended and adorned by the island of Cuba. 
Commencing at Cape Florida, we find that its capes and 
harbors are very numerous, and are sufficient for the 
vast commerce of this great inland sea, and the rich 
territories that border it. They are Tampa, Apalachee, 
Mobile, New Orleans, Atchafalaya, Calcasieu, Sabfhe, 
Galveston, Brazos Eiver, Matagorda, Corpus Christi, 
Brazos Santiago, Tehuantepec, Campeachy, and Sisal. 

At the toe of this great shoe lies the State of Texas, 
reaching for a distance of four hundred miles along the 
coast, and embracing in its entire boundaries two hun- 
dred and thirty-seven thousand square miles, or about 
one hundred and fifty millions of acres. It is four times 
as large as Virginia. The country along the coast is a 
level prairie ; but as you pass to the interior, the surface 
gradually rises and becomes more uneven; and still 
further inland, it becomes hilly and mountainous. 
After crossing an extensive belt of timber, and reaching 
more than a hundred miles from the coast, you find the 
high rolling prairies, composed of the richest soil in the 
world, covered with musquit-grass, and having along 
the streams and valleys sufficient timber for all needful 
purposes. 

Texas is what is called an alluvial country, and bears 
strong evidence of having been once under water. Very 



184 TEXAS. 

little rock is found, except in the northern part. It 
possesses every variety of climate and surface, and there 
is nothing which can contribute to the comfort and 
wants of man which will not grow here. Oranges and 
sugar-cane flourish in the south ; cotton in the middle 
regions ; wheat in the north ; and potatoes, corn and 
vegetables flourish everywhere ; while countless numbers 
of cattle, horses, sheep, and hogs can be reared in any 
part of the State. In fact, there is no country on the 
continent better suited to become the abode of millions 
of contented and happy people. It is a world in itself, 
where nature teems with all kind of riches, and holds 
out all kind of attractions to people of other States to 
come and find homes for themselves and their children. 
Our only wonder is, that so boundless a country ha3 
remained so long without being filled up with civilized 
people. 

INDIANS IK TEXAS. 

The Indians, from their mode of living, and the con- 
tinual wars among their different tribes, were but thinly 
scattered over the immense country lying between the 
Eio Grande and Eed River. The Lipans and the Caran- 
kaws lived along the lower Eio Grande and the Colorado 
and Brazos. They subsisted mainly upon fish. The 
next tribe, going east, was the Oenis, inhabiting Buffalo 
Bayou, the San Jacinto Valley, and the Trinity Eiver. 
On the banks of the Trinity their villages were large 
and numerous. Their habitations were like bee-hives, 
and some of them were forty feet high. As they de- 
voted much time to raising corn, they were compara- 
tively wealthy. They traded with the Spaniards of Xew 
Mexico, from whom they procured horses, money, spurs, 
and clothing. The next tribe east were the Xassoriis, 
living between the Cenis and the Sabine Eiver. These 



TEXAS. 185 

four tribes, two centuries ago, formed the original inhab- 
itants of Texas. The landing of the colony of La Salle 
was to them a new and wonderful event. The sight of 
ships and the sound of fire-arms were to them subjects 
of awe and astonishment. Living in the simplicity of 
nature, they were free from most of the diseases and 
vices of European nations. They were worshipers of 
the sun, and full of the superstitions common to other 
North American Indians. They had their rain-makers, 
their game-finders, and their witches. Living in a mild 
climate, and among prairies covered with buffalo and 
game of all kinds, and near streams and bays abounding 
in fish, they obtained their living with but little effort. 
They were contented and as free as people ever can be- 
come who know nothing of the usages of civilized life. 
Early and vigorous efforts were made by Catholic 
missionaries to convert them to Christianity. Estab- 
lishments were formed called presidios or missions. 
Buildings were erected round a square, and consisted 
of a church, storehouses, dwellings for priests, officers, 
and soldiers. Huts were erected at a short distance for 
the converted Indians. The ruins of many of these old 
presidios remain to this day. But the Indians are now 
all gone, and none are found except on the northern 
and western frontiers of the State. One race has dis- 
appeared, and a new one is fast filling its place. The 
weak have yielded to the strong — the savage to the 
civilized ; and before many years roll round, the only 
record of once powerful Indian tribes will be the beau- 
tiful names which still cling to some of our rivers and 
our mountains. 

THE EREKCH I2f TEXAS. 

The first Europeans who visited Texas were led here 
by La Salle, who landed near the entrance of Mata- 



186 TEXAS. 

gorda Bay, on February 18, 1685. La Salle was a brave 
and gallant knight under Louis XIV., King of France. 
Born of a good family, and intended for the priesthood 
in the Catholic Church, he had received a finished edu- 
cation. He was a man of great talents, of an enter- 
prising spirit, and possessed firmness of mind which 
danger and adversity seemed only to strengthen. He 
kept his own secrets, relied upon his own genius, and 
bore without a murmur whatever ills befell him. 

A squadron of four vessels was provided and fur- 
nished by the king, and the whole number of persons 
embarked in the enterprise, was three hundred. The 
squadron first touched land near Sabine Bay, but mak- 
ing no discoveries, and being unable to get any in- 
formation from the Indians, they proceeded westward, 
and sailing through Pass Cavallo, entered the Bay of 
St. Bernard, since known by its present name. One of 
the vessels was wrecked in attempting to land. The 
others landed in safety, and a camp was formed on 
the west side near the entrance of the Bay. The little 
colony was greatly refreshed by an abundance of game 
and fish. They were charmed with the country. The 
herds of buffalo and deer that were seen grazing on the 
prairies, the innumerable wild flowers that covered the 
earth, and the birds that warbled in the trees, led 
them to believe that they had found an earthly para- 
dise. 

But these bright prospects were soon clouded. 
Troubles arose with the Indians. Their chief supply 
of provisions was lost. Sickness began to thin their 
numbers. Disagreements arose between La Salle and 
the leading men of the colony. A captain of one of 
the vessels set sail for France, carrying away most of 
the ammunition. Finally, the settlement was aban- 
doned, and a new location was selected on the Lavaca 



TEXAS. 187 

River, and a fort was there erected, and named St. Louis, 
in honor of the king: 

La Salle, the leading spirit of this infant colony, 
being of an ad venturous disposition, and being intensely 
desirous of ascertaining the exact mouth of the great 
Mississippi River, started on the business of exploring 
the vast regions between Texas and Illinois ; and after 
enduring incredible hardships, and meeting with many 
wild and romantic adventures, was finally murdered by 
one of his own men. The Indians, on hearing of La 
Salle's death, attacked Fort St. Louis, and killed or 
scattered all the colonists. This was the end of the 
first European colony in Texas. 

THE FIRST WHITE MAN LOST IK TEXAS. 

Iii 1720, a colony of Europeans entered the Gulf of 
Mexico, with the view of settling in Louisiana. Among 
them was M. de Belisle, a gentleman of distinction. 
The wind and current carried the vessel on which he 
was sailing into Matagorda Bay. A boat was sent 
ashore for water, and Belisle, with four others, went in 
it. As the boat had to make several trips to and from 
the ship during the day, these men concluded to remain 
on shore and go out hunting. But, overstaying their 
time, the boat made the last trip, and the captain, be^ 
coming impatient, weighed anchor and sailed from the 
Bay. Being thus left alone in an unknown country, 
the hunters traveled westward along the coast for 
several days, living upon herbs and insects. Belisle had 
brought a young dog with him from the vessel. This 
he gave up to one of the men to be killed for food. 
The man was so weak with hunger that he was un- 
able to kill him, and the dog escaped and disappeared. 
The four companions of Belisle died of starvation and 
despair before his eyes ; and for some days after, he 



188 TEXAS. 

continued to live on worms and insects, until at last 
the dog returned with an opossum which he had killed. 
Shortly after this, the dog was wounded "by a wild 
beast, and he was compelled to kilhhini. Being thus 
left alone, he turned from the west, and bent his 
course to the interior, in search of men. He found 
footsteps, and followed them to a river, on the opposite 
side of which he saw some Indians engaged in drying 
meat. They soon discovered him, caught him, stripped 
him, and divided his clothes among them. They then 
took him to their village, and gave him to an old 
squaw, who treated him so kindly, that he soon re- 
covered his strength. He learned their language, be- 
came a warrior, and rose to distinction among them. 

After some time, a party of strange Indians visited 
the tribe where he was a captive, and, seeing him, re- 
marked that they had also in their nation some men 
of the same color. This remark excited Belisle's feel- 
ings, and he determined to profit by it. He then made 
some ink of soot, and wrote on a piece of paper which 
he had secretly saved, an account of his condition. One 
of the strange Indians secretly agreed to carry it to the 
white people at Natchitoches. He performed his prom- 
ise, delivered the paper to Captain St. Denis, com- 
mandant of that post, who wept on learning the fate of 
his white brother. As St. Denis was a great friend of 
the Indians, and a favorite with them, ten of their 
number volunteered to go after Belisle, and return in 
two moons. They were furnished with horses, and a 
horse, arms, and clothing for the prisoner. They 
reached the village, and fired off their guns, which 
overawed the Indians. Then delivering a letter from 
St. Denis to Belisle, they helped him to mount his 
horse, and the whole party galloped away, and reached 
Natchitoches in safety. From there Belisle found his 



TEXAS. 189 

Way to the infant city of New Orleans, and became 
Major General of the Marine of Louisiana. 

THE SPANIARDS IK TEXAS. 

Early in 1686, the Spaniards, who at this time held 
possession of Mexico, hearing of the effort of the French, 
under La Salle, to make settlements in Texas, deter- 
mined on driving them out of the country. An expe- 
dition of one hundred men left the Spanish settlement 
of Monclava in the spring of 1689. But on arriving at 
Fort St. Louis, on the Lavaca, they found it abandoned. 
Going into the country, they found two of the French 
colonists among the Cenis Indians, whom they took 
prisoners, and sent to Mexico, and there condemned to 
work in the mines. Eeturning to Fort St. Louis, they 
there established the Mission of San Francisco; and 
collecting some priests and friars, commenced their 
efforts to convert the Indians. The king of Spain now 
determined to recover the possession of all Texas and 
Coahuila. A governor of the country was accordingly 
appointed ; soldiers and priests were sent out to different 
points, to establish military posts and missions. They 
took with them cattle, and seeds for planting. They 
formed settlements on the Eed Eiver, the Neches, and 
the Guadalupe. But in a short time, all these infant 
colonies, and also that of Fort St. Louis, began to de- 
cline. The Indians were hostile, the crops failed, and 
the cattle died. So that in 1693, they were all aban- 
doned, and Texas was once more without any European 
settlers. 

Not much was done by the Spaniards after this to 
settle Texas, until the year 1715. From this year may 
be dated its permanent occupation by Spain. They now 
commenced in good earnest to found colonies, to estab- 
lish missions, and by arms, agriculture and arts, to ex- 



190 TEXAS. 

tend and ..establish their influence and laws over the 
whole country. But notwithstanding all their efforts 
and sacrifices, the Government was not prosperous; and 
in the year 1745, the entire Spanish population in Texas 
did not exceed fifteen hundred, with perhaps an equal 
number of converted Indians. In 1758, a sad scene 
occurred at San Saba. The Indians, in large numbers, 
assaulted the mission, and murdered priests, soldiers, 
and Indian converts, leaving not one alive to tell the 
tale. This fearful butchery caused the Spanish missions 
in Texas everywhere to decline. They never recovered 
from the blow. 

During the American Eevolution, the Spanish pos- 
sessions of Mexico and Texas remained in quiet. Texas 
was safe from danger. Her harbors were almost un- 
known ; her property offered no temptation to pillage, 
and her scattered population could afford no recruits. 
The Spanish settlement at Natchez, however, -had opened 
up a trade with Texas through Nacogdoches. This road 
had become familiar to many besides the Spaniards. 
Traders, on their return, would make known to the 
Americans in and around Natchez, the advantages of 
trade in Texas, the surpassing beauty and richness of 
the country, the abundance of the game, and a thousand 
other attractions to adventurers. Thus the tide of travel 
and of trade began to set in the direction of this new 
country about the beginning of the present century. 
The town of Nacogdoches soon became a place of much 
importance. Many persons of wealth and education 
emigrated from Louisiana to that place. The old mis- 
sionary station became a town. An arsenal, barracks, 
and other substantial buildings soon made their appear- 
ance — some of which are still standing. 

Although the Spaniards held the country for upwards 
of one hundred and fifty years, yet little now exists in 



TEXAS. 191 

Texas to remind us of their rule here, excepting the 
names which they gave to the principal towns and 
rivers. Most of these names are still retained. 

AMEEICAlsS IK TEXAS. 

A trader, called Philip Nolan, engaged in traffic be- 
tween Natchez (Mississippi) and San Antonio, about 
the year 1785. In October, 1800, he started on one of 
his expeditions into Texas, with a company of about 
twenty men. Among them was Ellis P. Bean, a young 
man of seventeen years of age, whose romantic charac- 
ter and strange adventures entitle him to a more ex- 
tended notice. Nolan and his company, in order to 
avoid attracting public attention, took a new route, after 
crossing the Mississippi at Natchez. Occasionally they 
halted to kill game and refresh themselves. Before 
reaching Eed River, three of them strayed off, got lost, 
but afterwards found their way back to Natchez. Nolan 
and his remaining men passed around the head of Lake 
Bistineau, and crossing Red River, came to a Oaddo 
village, where they obtained some fine horses. In ten 
days they crossed the Trinity, and immediately entered 
upon an immense rolling prairie, through which they 
advanced, till they came to a spring, which they named 
the Painted Spring. At the head of this spring stood 
a rock, painted by the Indians, to commemorate a treaty 
which had once been made there. 

In the vast prairie around them they could find no 
fuel with which to cook their food. The buffalo, once 
so numerous here, had all disappeared, and they were 
compelled to live for nine days on the flesh of mustang 
horses. By this time they reached the Brazos, where 
they found plenty of deer, elk, and "wild horses by 
thousands." Here they built an enclosure, and caught 
and penned three hundred head of mustangs. At this 



192 TEXAS. 

place, they were visited by two hundred Camanche In- 
dians) with whom they went on a visit to the great chief 
Necoroco, on the south bank of Eed Biver, where they 
remained a month, making many friends, and gaining 
much information. They returned at length to their 
old camp, accompanied by an escort of the natives, who 
managed to steal eleven of their best American horses. 

The company at this time consisted of Captain Nolan, 
five Spaniards, eleven Americans, and one negro. As 
they could do nothing without their horses, some six of 
the company volunteered to go after them. They went 
on foot, and after a march of nine days found four of 
the horses, under the care of a few Indians. The other 
horses, the Indians said, had been taken on a buffalo- 
hunt by the balance of their party, and would return in 
the evening. They further stated that the one who 
stole the horses was a one-eyed Indian chief. In the 
evening, the Indians came in, bringing the horses and 
abundance of meat. The whites tied the one-eyed chief, 
and guarded him till morning; they then took such 
provisions as they wanted for their journey, let the In- 
dians go, and returned to their camp in four days. 

While in camp, resting themselves, a troop of one 
hundred and fifty Spaniards came suddenly upon them. 
The trampling of the horses aroused the Americans, 
who, seeing their danger, prepared for defense. They 
had built a square inclosure of logs, in which they slept 
at night. Into this they fled. The Spaniards at day- 
break commenced their fire, which was returned from 
the log pen. In ten minutes, Captain Nolan was killed 
by a ball in the head. Bean then took the command, 
and continued the fight. In a short time after, two 
more of the little company fell. The Spaniards had 
brought with them a swivel on the back of a mule, with 
which they fired grape. At this time, Bean proposed to 



TEXAS. 193 

his men to charge on this piece of artillery, but the men 
jointly opposed it. It was next proposed to retreat, 
which was agreed to. Each one filled his powder-horn, 
and the remaining ammunition was placed in charge of 
the negro. They left the inclosure, and gained a small 
creek. While here engaged in fighting, the negro with 
the ammunition, and one wounded man, stopped and 
surrendered. Bean and his party, though under a con- 
stant fire from the enemy on both sides, kept up the 
fight, until at last they took refuge in a ravine, and, for 
a short time, the firing ceased. At length the enemy 
began to close in upon the ravine, but were soon re- 
pulsed. About two o'clock in the afternoon, the Span- 
iards hoisted a white flag, and an American, who was 
with the Spaniards, was appointed to hold a parley with 
Bean. They said, all they desired was, that the Ameri- 
cans would return to their homes, and cease to come any 
more into Texas. The Americans agreed to this. A 
treaty was made, in which it was agreed that both 
parties should return together to Nacogdoches — the 
Americans not to surrender, but to retain their arms. 

They soon reached the Trinity Eiver, which was over- 
flowing its banks. Bean soon contrived to make a small 
canoe out of a dry cotton-wood tree, and managed to 
carry over all the Spaniards, leaving their arms and com- 
mander on the other side. He now proposed to his men 
to throw the arms into the river, start the commander 
over, and again march for the prairies. In this, how- 
ever, he was not seconded. 

In a few days they all reached Nacogdoches, where 
they remained a month, expecting, according to promise, 
to be sent home. But in violation of the treaty, they 
were all put in irons and sent to San Antonio. Here 
they were kept in prison three months. They were then 
sent to San Louis Potosi, where they remained in prison 



194 TEXAS. 

for sixteen months. The prisoners being without 
clothes, contrived means to procure them. Bean and 
Charles King gave themselves out as shoemakers, and 
were permitted to work at their prison doors, by which 
means they earned some money. Then they were started 
off to Chihuahua. Arriving at Salfcillo, they were treated 
with more kindness. Their irons were taken off, and 
they were permitted to walk about the town. Here we 
will leave them for the present, simply remarking, that 
this battle of twelve Americans with one hundred and 
fifty mounted Spaniards, was probably the first which 
ever took place between these two nations, and from it 
we may judge of the character of each. 

FIRST AMERICAN" COLONY IN TEXAS. 

The first grant from the Mexican Government to 
found an American colony in Texas, was dated January 
17, 1821. This grant was given to Moses Austin, a 
native of Connecticut, and the father of the distin- 
guished Colonel Stephen F. Austin. The father dying 
suddenly, the son undertook the great and benevolent 
work of'Carrying outjiis father's plans. He accordingly 
explored the country watered by the Guadalupe, Colo- 
rado, and Brazos Kivers, and laid out the town of San 
Felipe de Austin, on the Brazos. The news of Austin's 
colony had spread over the western country, and there 
were many adventurers who were anxious to join him ; 
so that the number of colonists came on faster than 
provision could be made for their support. The first 
settlers were often reduced to the necessity of living en- 
tirely on wild game, and clothing themselves with skins. 
They also suffered greatly for several years from the 
Carankaw Indians. In the year 1813, one of the colon- 
ists gives us the following account of their sufferings : 

" Those of us who have no families live with families 



TEXAS. 195 

/>f the settlement. A part of us are obliged to go out 
in the morning to hunt food, leaving a part of the men 
behind to protect the women and children from the In- 
dians. Game is now so scarce that we often hunt a 
whole day for a deer or turkey, and return at night 
empty-handed. It would make your heart sick to see 
the poor little half-naked children, who have eaten 
nothing during the day, watch for the return of the 
hunters at night. As soon as they catch the first 
glimpse of them, they eagerly run out to meet them, and 
learn if they have found any game. If the hunters re- 
turn with a deer or turkey, the children are wild with 
delight. But if they return without food, the little 
creatures suddenly stop in their course, and the big tears 
start and roll down their pale cheeks." 

These were hard times for the young colony. But 
they were engaged in a great and good work, and met 
and overcame all difficulties with manly firmness. The 
common dress of the people was buckskin; and occa- 
sionally a strolling peddler would penetrate into the 
wilderness with a piece of domestic or calico, which was 
deemed of as much elegance as silk or satin is among us. 

Soon after the establishment of Austin's colony, many 
other colonies were founded in different parts of the 
country. The settlement at Victoria was begun in 
1825. The town of Gonzales was laid off about the same 
time. In 1828, Colonel Austin obtained another con- 
tract to colonize three hundred families on lands near 
the Gulf. Texas had now become the great point of at- 
traction to thousands of adventurers from all parts of 
the United States. Men of desperate fortunes and oi 
roving habits, speculators in land, broken-down politi- 
cians^ refugees from justice, as well as multitudes of a 
better class, who were desirous of finding new homes for 
their growing families, and fresh lands for their increas- 



196 TEXAS. 

mg slaves, swelled the tide of Texas immigration. This 
tide, rolling down from the Northern and Western 
states, at last excited the jealousy of the Mexican gov- 
ernment, and finally brought on a war with Mexico, 
which ended in the independence of Texas. 

GALVESTON ISLAND. 

From the discovery of this island, in 1686, by the 
French under La Salle, until 1816, it remained un- 
settled. A few roving Indians occasionally resorted to 
the western end of the island for the purpose of fishing, 
but there were no human habitations on it. As late as 
1816, it was covered with a long, green grass, on which 
fed herds of deer. It also abounded in serpents, and 
was hence called by the pirates of the Gulf, Snake 
Island. In 1816, Don Louis Aury, commodore of the 
fleet of the Eepublics of Mexico, Venezuela, La Plata, 
and New Granada, consisting of fifteen small vessels, 
was chosen governor of the province of Texas and Gal- 
veston Island. He immediately set out upon a cruise 
against Spanish commerce, and soon swept from the 
Gulf the vessels of the mother country. The rich prizes 
brought into Galveston soon enabled Aury and his little 
garrison to live handsomely. African slaves were also 
smuggled into the place, and sold at about one hundred 
and fifty dollars apiece, and sent across the country into 
Louisiana. In 1817, it fell into the possession of the 
celebrated Lafitte, who had for many years been the 
terror of the Gulf — a man of great accomplishments and 
of many crimes — who, when the war between England 
and the United States broke out in 1812, had his head- 
quarters at Barataria, in Louisiana, and after refusing to 
join the British, offered his services to the American 
Government, was pardoned by the Legislature of Louisi- 



TEXAS. , 197 

ana, and fought bravely at the battle of New Orleans 
under General Jackson. 

After the battle of New Orleans, Lafitte returned to 
his former occupation, and he and his followers on Gal- 
veston Island numbered nearly a thousand men. They 
were of all nations and languages, and though pretend- 
ing to be engaged, under their distinguished leader, as 
privateers, were actually nothing but pirates. Lafitte 
was a man of handsome person, winning manners, gen- 
erous disposition, and had a wonderful influence over 
his men. He built his town on the ruins of Aury's 
village, erected a dwelling called the red house, and con- 
structed a fort, a small arsenal and dock-yard. From 
New Orleans he was supplied with building materials, 
provisions, and many of the luxuries of life. A " Yankee " 
boarding-house sprung up, and Galveston soon became 
a place of many attractions to the wild free-boofcers of 
the Gulf. But, in 1820, Lafitte and his men committed 
some acts which brought on him the displeasure of the 
United States Government, who sent an armed vessel 
and broke up his establishment. This prince of pirates 
entertained the captain of the American vessel with 
great hospitality at the red house. He then assembled 
his followers, made them an address, supplied them 
with money, advised them to disperse, and bidding the 
American officer farewell, sailed out of the bay, and 
left Galveston forever. 

Galveston, in 1822, was again desolate, and for some 
years it was only visited occasionally by sailors in search 
of Lafitte's hidden treasures. In 1836, the eastern end 
of the Island was occupied by some Texas troops under 
Colonel Morgan, who had charge of some Mexican 
prisoners. Two years after this, when Texas had estab- 
lished its independence, and crowds of strangers com- 
menced coming into the country, the town began to 



198 TEXAS. 

rise in importance. Commerce had sought out the 
harbor as the best in the young Bepublic, and respon- 
sible merchants began to make it their permanent abode. 
In 1838, vessels were arriving'and departing daily, and 
the harbor presented the appearance of an Atlantic port. 
In the first quarter of the year 1840, ninety-two vessels 
arrived at the port of Galveston. 

THE FALL OE THE ALAMO. 

In 1836, Santa Anna, who was at that time President 
of Mexico, determined to invade Texas, and either drive 
the Americans out of the country, or crush out the 
spirit of independence which had broken out among 
them. Accordingly he set out for the Eio Grande on 
the 1st of February of that year, at the head of seven 
thousand troops, and on the 27th of the same month, 
he marched into the city of San Antonio. The few 
Texas soldiers who were stationed in that city retired 
across the river in good order, and took refuge in the 
Alamo. The Alanio, though strong, was not properly 
a fort, but a presidio or mission. It had been standing 
for nearly one hundred and fifty years, and had been 
the scene of many strange and interesting events. Here 
Colonel Travis, with his small force of not more than 
one hundred and fifty men, determined to make a stand, 
and conquer or die. He had only eight cannon, and 
was greatly deficient in provisions and ammunition. 
When the enemy first appeared before the place, he had 
only ninety bushels of corn and thirty head of cattle. 
But the watch-word of the little band of heroes was, 
"Victory or death!" Santa Anna immediately de- 
manded a surrender, which was answered by a shot from 
the fort. The enemy then hoisted the red flag, and 
commenced the attack. They erected a number of bat- 
teries, and for several days kept up a constant skirmish- 



TEXAS. 199 

ing. Travis and his little band frequently sallied out 
and met their assailants, whom they drove back with 
considerable loss. On the 1st of March, thirty- two gal- 
lant men, from Gonzales, forced their way into the Ala- 
mo, thus swelling the force of Travis to one hundred 
and eighty-eight. For several succeeding days the con- 
test was kept up with spirit on both sides, the Texans 
firing but seldom, in order to save their ammunition ; 
and the Mexicans advancing their batteries nearer and 
nearer to the walls. Travis succeeded in sending out, 
through the enemy's lines, a last appeal to his country 
for help in this his terrible extremity, setting forth 
his position, and stating that if not soon reinforced, he 
and his men had solemnly determined to perish in the 
struggle. By the same courier he wrote to a friend in 
Washington County the following affecting message: 
" Take care of my little boy. If the country is saved, 
I may make him a fortune. But if all is lost, and I 
shall perish, I will leave him nothing but the proud rec- 
ollection that he is the son of a man who died for his 
country." 

Thus for one long week did this little band of heroes 
defend themselves against the overwhelming force of the 
enemy, until they were completely worn down by con- 
stant watching and fighting. On Sunday morning, the 
6th of March, Santa Anna determined to take the place 
by storm, and the Alamo was completely surrounded by 
the whole Mexican army. The infantry was placed in 
a circle nearest the fort, and the cavalry around them, 
so that not a single straggler might escape. At a given 
signal, the whole host advanced rapidly, under a tre- 
mendous fire from the Texans. Just at daylight, ladders 
were placed against the walls, and the soldiers began to 
climb up. But they were hurled down by the brave 
defenders within. Again the charge was sounded, and a 



200 TEXAS. 

second effort made to reach the top of the wall ; but 
again the assailants were beaten back. For a few min- 
utes there was a pause. A third attempt was made with 
more success. Some reached the top of the wall, wavered 
and fell; but their places were supplied by hundreds 
pressing up behind them on every ladder. At last, cut 
down, killed and wounded, the Texan defenders began 
to give way. Instantly the fort was filled with hundreds 
of infuriated murderers. The survivors within the walls 
still continued the battle. They clubbed their guns, 
and with shouts and yells of defiance, fought from wall 
to wall, from room to room. Some few cried for quarter, 
but no quarter was given. Travis and Crockett fell with 
piles of dead Mexicans around them. Major Evans, in 
attempting to set fire to the magazine, was shot down. 
Colonel Bowie, who was sick in his bed, was murdered 
and his body mangled. Major Dickinson, in attempting 
to leap from the wall with his child tied on his back, 
was instantly killed. Thus, one by one those noble 
heroes sold their lives ; and by sunrise on that Sabbath 
morn, every one had perished, and all was still. But 
around them lay the dead bodies of over five hundred 
Mexicans, with an equal number of wounded. 

The only survivors of this terrible conflict were Mrs. 
Dickinson, her child, a negro servant of Colonel Travis, 
and two Mexican women. The bodies of the Texans 
were stripped, mutilated, and then thrown into heaps 
and burnt. 

As not one of all the defenders of the Alamo escaped, 
we shall never know the full particulars of that desper- 
ate struggle. 

About a year after, their bones and ashes were col- 
lected, placed in a coffin, and buried with due solemnity. 
A small monument was made from the stones of the 
fortress in 1841, was purchased by the State, and now 



TEXAS. 201 

stands in the Capitol at Austin. But the most lasting 
monument of the heroes of the Alamo is found in the 
hearts of their countrymen, who will cherish their 
memory," and tell each succeeding generation the tale 
of their sufferings, their endurance, and their heroic end. 

They fell unnoticed, but undying — 

The very gales their names seem sighing. 

CAPTURE A^D SLAUGHTER OF EAfftfltf'S MEH AT 
GOLIAD. 

The news of the fall of the Alamo and the entire 
destruction of its brave defenders soon spread through- 
out Texas. It now became necessary that the army of 
the young republic should retreat before the advance 
of the larger force under Santa Anna, and make a stand 
against him in the eastern part of the country. Ac- 
cordingly, General Houston, who was at the time at 
Gonzales, issued orders that the scattered troops should 
fall back and unite at some more favorable plaoe. In 
this retreat the two armies had frequent skirmishes, in 
some of which the Texans gained signal advantages. 

Colonel Fannin, who was stationed at Goliad with 
three hundred men, began his retreat. Thinking that 
the enemy would not pursue him, he was not sufficient- 
ly on his guard, and was overtaken at the Coleta Creek, 
about thirty miles east of Goliad, on the 20th of March. 
He and his men were in an open prairie, and the infant- 
ry and cavalry of the enemy were concealed in the tim- 
ber near the creek. The enemy's cavalry, coming up 
within a quarter of a mile, dismounted, and began to 
advance and fire. Fannin ordered his men to reserve 
their fire and to lie down in the grass. The Mexicans 
having now come within one hundred yards, the Texans 
opened a fire of rifles, muskets, and artillery. Fannin 
here received a flesh wound in the leg. 



202 TEXAS. 

While thus engaged with the Mexican cavalry on their 
right flank, they suddenly discovered the enemy's in- 
fantry, one thousand strong, advancing on their left 
and rear, and concealing themselves in the long grass. 
Whenever they would rise to shoot, and show their 
heads, the Texas rifles generally took them down. The 
battle soon became general. The Texan s having no 
water to sponge their cannon, the pieces soon became 
so hot that they could not use them, and they were 
forced to rely wholly on their small arms. With these 
they kept up the fight from one o'clock until sundown. 
At dusk, a party of Camanche Indians, who had joined 
the Mexicans, were placed in the high grass, about thirty 
yards from the Texans, from which they poured a de- 
structive fire. But, as soon as it became sufficiently 
dark for the Texans to see the flash of their guns, they 
seldom flashed twice from the same place. A little after 
dark, the enemy drew off their troops. 

The Texans lost, during the day, seven killed and 
sixty wounded. The enemy's loss must have been five 
times as great. 

The Mexicans took position, during the night, in the 
skirt of the woods. Early in the morning they renewed 
the attack, and, arranging their whole force in the most 
imposing manner, surrounded the little band of Texans 
with overwhelming numbers. Fannin and his officers 
now held a consultation, and it was the opinion of the 
majority that they should surrender. A white flag was 
raised, and terms were agreed on. It was stipulated 
that the Texans should be received as prisoners of war, 
and in eight days should be sent to the coast and 
shipped to the United States. This agreement was 
reduced to writing in both the English and Spanish 
languages, read over two or three times, and the writing 
exchanged "in the most formal and solemn manner." 



TEXAS. 203 

The Texans immediately stacked their arms and such 
of them as were ahle to walk, were marched back to 
Goliad on the same day. At Goliad they were crowded 
into the old church, with no other food than a little 
beef, without bread or salt. Some other prisoners were 
also brought in who had been captured at other points. 
Here they were kept until the 27th of the month, ex- 
pecting every day to leave for the United States. The 
prisoners were spending the evening of the 27th in the 
most pleasant manner. Colonel Fannin was entertain- 
ing his friends with the prospect of a speedy return to 
the United States ; and some of the young men, who 
could perform well on the flute, were singing "Home, 
Sweet Home." Alas ! how little they knew of the sad 
fate that was awaiting them. At seven o'clock at night, 
a courier arrived with an order from Santa Anna, that 
the prisoners should all be shot ! Accordingly, on the 
next morning at the dawn of day, the Texans were 
awakened by a Mexican officer, who said he wished 
them to form a line that they might be counted. The 
men were marched out in several divisions, under differ- 
ent pretexts. Some were told that they were to be 
taken to Copano, to be sent immediately home ; others, 
that they were going out to kill beeves; and others 
again, that they were being removed from the church 
to make room for Santa Anna and his suite. Dr. 
Shackleford, who had been reserved as a surgeon for the 
wounded Mexicans, and was invited to the tent of a 
Mexican officer, a little distance from the fort, says: 
" In about half an hour we heard the report of a volley 
of small arms on the east of the fort. I immediately 
inquired the cause of the firing. The officer replied 
that he did not know, but supposed it was the guard 
firing off their guns. In about fifteen or twenty min- 
utes after, another such volley was heard directly south 



204: TEXAS. 

of us. At the same time I could distinguish, the heads 
of some of the men through the branches of some peach- 
trees, and could hear their screams. It was then, for 
the first time, that the awful conviction seized upon our 
minds, that treachery and murder had begun their work. 
I then asked the officer if it could be possible they were 
murdering our men. He replied that it was so, but that 
lie had not given the order, neither had executed it. In 
about an hour more the wounded were dragged out 
and butchered. Colonel Fannin was the last to suffer. 
When informed of his fate, he met it like a soldier. 
He handed his watch to the man who was to kill him, 
and requested him to shoot him in the head, and not in 
the back. He then seated himself in a chair, tied a 
handkerchief over his eyes, bared his bosom, and re- 
ceived the fire. 

" As different divisions were brought to the place of 
execution, they were ordered to sit down with their 
backs to the guard. A young man, of the name of Fen- 
ner, rose on his feet, and exclaimed, 'Boys, they are 
going to kill us — die with your faces to them, like 
men ! ' At the same time, two other young men, swing- 
ing their caps over their heads, shouted at the top of 
their voices, 'Hurrah, for Texas!' 

" Many attempted to escape ; but most of those who 
survived the first fire were pursued by the cavalry and 
cut down. It is believed that twenty-seven of those 
who were marched out to be slaughtered made their 
escape, leaving three hundred and thirty who were 
butchered in cold blood. The dead were then stripped, 
and their naked bodies thrown into piles, and though 
an attempt was made to burn them, it did not fully suc- 
ceed, and many of them were left a prey to dogs and 
vultures." 

Peace to the ashes of these noble martyrs of liberty ! 



TEXAS. 205 

They did not fall in vain. A cry for vengeance arose to 
Heaven. It rung through the land, and a terrible ret- 
ribution overtook the cruel murderer and his army at 
the battle of San Jacinto. 

BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO. 

The battle of San Jacinto was the last and most im- 
portant one which took place in the war between Texas 
and Mexico. Though the numbers engaged in it were 
not very large, yet the victory of the Texans was so 
great, that it brought the war to a close, and soon led 
to the independence of Texas. It was fought on Buffalo 
Bayon, and near San Jacinto River, in Harris count} 7 , on 
April 21, 1836. General Santa Anna, the President of 
Mexico, commanded the Mexicans, and General Hous- 
ton led the Texans. The Mexicans numbered fif- 
teen hundred men, and the Texans only about seven 
hundred. We need not describe the proud advance 
of the Mexican army, the retreat of the Texans, 
the burning of Harrisburg, the skirmishing on the 
20th, and other incidents which took place before the 
battle. 

General Houston called a council of war, and it was de- 
cided that they must now fight, or the Mexicans would 
drive them out of the country, and compel them to cross 
over into Louisiana. Many of the soldiers were impa- 
tient to bring the matter to close quarters, and were de- 
termined either to meet the enemy at once, or else go 
home and take care of their families and property, which 
were in danger of being destroyed by parties from the 
Mexican army, who were prowling over the country. It 
was about three o'clock on the afternoon of the 21 st, when 
General Houston made preparations for the attack. The 
Mexicans seemed to be almost entirely unprepared for 
battle. They had just finished their dinner. Some were 



206 TEXAS. 

lounging about the camp. Some were playing rnonte, and 
many were taking a quiet nap. Santa Anna was him- 
self asleep. The Texans formed their plan of attack 
behind the shelter of some trees, which concealed them 
from view. Burleson's regiment was placed in the 
center ; Sherman's on the left wing, *aud the cavalry, 
under Lamar, on the extreme right. The artillery, 
including the " Twin Sisters," was under the charge of 
Hockley. The whole army was soon in readiness. The 
" Twin Sisters " now advanced to within two hundred 
yards of the Mexican breastworks, and opened a de- 
structive fire with grape and canister. Sherman's 
regiment rushed forward and began the attack with 
great fury. The whole line then advanced in double- 
quick time, shouting, " Eemember the Alamo ! " " Re- 
member G-oliad ! " The Mexicans fired as the Texans 
approached, but the latter reserved their fire until they 
were within pistol shot. They then opened fire along 
their whole line. The effect of this discharge was ter- 
rible. They made no halt. Onward they rushed, firing 
and yelling as they went. The Texan cavalry then 
charged that of the Mexicans, who immediately fled; 
and in a few minutes Burleson's regiment and Millard's 
infantry stormed the breastwork, and captured their 
whole artillery. In fifteen minutes after the charge, 
the Mexicans gave way at all points, and the pursuit 
became general. Some fled to the river ; some to the 
swamp, and most of them to a clump of trees in their 
rear, where they surrendered. Such was their terror, 
and so sudden was their flight, that many of their 
cannon were left loaded, their money and other valuables 
left untouched. — Those that were asleep, awoke only 
to be overwhelmed or killed. Those that were cooking 
left their food untouched ; and those that were playing 
monte, left the game unfinished. The swamp, in the 



TEXAS. 207 

rear of their camp, presented an awful scene. Men and 
horses, the dead and dying, were piled in heaps, and 
formed a bridge over which their terrible pursuers con- 
tinued the chase. The Texans, not having time to load 
their guns, used them as clubs ; and then, seizing their 
bowie-knives, slaughtered the poor fugitives like sheep. 
Many begged for their lives, but no quarter was given 
them. Their pursuers remembered the many fearful 
outrages committed by the Mexicans on former occa- 
sions, and they were determined to put to death all 
who came within their power. 

At dark the pursuit of the flying enemy ceased. 
The prisoners who surrendered before the flight com- 
menced, were conducted to the Texan camp, a guard 
placed over them, and were furnished with provisions. 
The wounded of both armies were cared for. In sum- 
ming up the results of the battle, it was found that 630 
Mexicans were killed, 208 wounded, and 103 made pris- 
oners. A large quantity of arms, great numbers of 
mules and horses, camp equipage, and the army chest, 
containing $12,000, were captured. The Texans had 
only 8 killed and 25 wounded. General Houston re- 
ceived a wound in the leg. 

On the morning of the 22d, detachments were sent 
out to scour the country in the direction towards 
Harrisburg, and pick up stragglers. A party of five 
continued their search down Buffalo Bayou. One of 
them, in the act of shooting a deer, saw a Mexican hid- 
ing in the tall grass, with a blanket over his head. 
They called to him to rise and come to them. He ad- 
vanced, and taking one of them by the hand, kissed it. 
They asked him who he was. He replied that he was 
only a private soldier. But, seeing some gold buttons 
on his shirt, they pointed to them. He then burst into 
tears, and begged to be conducted to General Houston. 



208 TEXAS. 

This prisoner was none other than the celebrated Santa 
Anna. On approaching Houston, he announced his 
name, and declared himself a prisoner of war-. General 
Houston was reclining beneath a tree, and was suffer- 
ing considerable pain from his wound. He, however, 
received the prisoner with due consideration. Santa 
Anna was much agitated and much alarmed. Knowing 
the hatred entertained towards him by the Texans, be- 
cause of his many former cruelties, he justly feared 
their vengeance. He asked for opium, some of which 
he swallowed, whether for the purpose of quieting his 
nerves, or destroying his life, we know not. But in a 
few minutes he recovered his usual composure, and be- 
gan to display his usual vanity. He at once made 
application to be released from captivity. " Yon," said 
he to Houston, " can afford to be generous, for you have 
conquered the Napoleon of the West ! " General Hous- 
ton distinctly informed him that he should be turned 
over to the civil authorities. President Burnett then 
took charge of him; and after detaining him for some 
time a prisoner, he was permitted to go to Washington 
City, from whence he was sent home by General Jack- 
son, in a vessel of war, to Vera Cruz. 

Thus ended the celebrated battle of San Jacinto. 
The brave band, under their distinguished leader, ob- 
tained a victory as glorious as any other recorded in 
the annals of history, and the happy consequences of 
it will be felt in Texas in all future generations. It 
shows what brave men can do when fighting for liberty 
against tyrants. 

EELIGIOX IX TEXAS. 

Although many of the early settlers in Texas were 
immoral in their habits, yet the mass of the people 
entertained a great regard for religious observances. 



TEXAS. 209 

Most of them were educated in the older States, and 
brought with them their reverence for sacred things. 
The leading men among them were well aware that no 
people can be prosperous who do not encourage the 
worship of God. This was particularly true after the 
country became independent of Mexico. It was then 
that a feeling of gratitude to Heaven, for its blessing on 
their efforts to become a free people, seemed to pervade 
all classes, and ministers of the Gospel, of all denom- 
inations, were cordially welcomed to the country. It 
is now difficult to decide what Christian sect had 
the honor of organizing the first church in Texas. 
The Methodists and Baptists both claim this distinc- 
tion. 

As early as 1818, the Rev. Henry Stephenson, of the 
Methodist denomination, preached in the Red River 
settlements, in Western Louisiana. In 1824 he paid a 
visit to Texas, and preached the first Protestant sermon 
west of the Brazos, near San Felipe. There were four 
families present on that occasion. The first camp- 
meeting was held in Texas in 1833, ten miles from San 
Augustine. About eighty persons attended. A few 
individuals professed religion, and a church was organ- 
ized. On January 17, 1838, the corner-stone of a Meth- 
odist house of worship was laid in San Augustine. Gen. 
Thomas J. Rusk delivered an address on the occasion. 
This was the first effort to erect a church building west 
of the Sabine. 

In 1837, the Rev. R. Alexander, D.D., emigrated to 
Texas, preached extensively throughout the State, was 
the means of doing a great amount of good, and still 
lives to see the fruits of his labors. About the same 
time, the Rev. Dr. Enter, for some time president of 
Alleghany College in Pennsylvania, a man of practical 
views, sound learning, and of a truly missionary spirit, 



210 TEXAS. 

settled within the bounds of the young republic, and 
labored and died in Texas. 

One of the most remarkable preachers, whose name 
appears in the early history of the State, was Paul 
Denton. He was early left an orphan in Arkansas, and 
liyed in a family where he was treated as a servant, and 
had to cook, wash, scour, and perform other degrading 
work. Until he was twelve years of age, he was a 
stranger to hat and shoes. When he became older, he 
ran away from his oppressors, and commenced life for 
himself. At an early age he married, and learned to 
read and write after becoming the head of a family. 
He finally became a preacher, and soon showed remark- 
able powers as a public speaker. He was a man of fine 
person, agreeable manners, and although without any 
advantages of education, displayed a high degree of elo- 
quence. His first efforts as a preacher of the Gospel 
were in the Eed Lands in Eastern Texas. He after- 
wards removed to the northern part of the State. He 
was a man of public spirit, and was brave as well as 
good. He raised a company of volunteers to chastise 
the Indians, who had become troublesome to the white 
settlers, and was killed in battle. Texas has honored 
him in calling a county by his name. 

Among other ministers of the Gospel who came to 
Texas at an early time the Eev. Sumner Bacon is worthy 
of honorable notice. He arrived in the country in 1828. 
He was a native of Massachusetts, and was first a soldier 
in the United States army before he became a clergy- 
man. He was a man of great energy and courage. In 
connection with his duties as a preacher, he distributed 
thousands of copies of the Bible from the Sabine to San 
Antonio. On one occasion he was overtaken by a band 
of ruffians, who seized him and threatened him with 
instant death. He begged his captors to first join with 



TEXAS. 211 

him in prayer. They refused to unite with him, but 
consented that he might first pray himself before they 
put their threat into execution. He knelt down and 
prayed so fervently, that they all quietly left him. On 
another occasion, as he and some others were preparing 
to hold religious services near San Antonio, certain per- 
sons sent him word that they intended to come and 
break up the meeting. Col. James Bowie, being in the 
neighborhood, and hearing of their purpose, went to the 
place where the meeting was to be held. He made the 
sign of the cross on the ground, and informed them that 
he was captain in those parts, and that the meeting 
should take place. Knowing the character of Bowie, 
and fearing his wrath, the opposers of the meeting with- 
drew, and Bacon and his friends proceeded with their 
services. Mr. Bacon belonged to the Cumberland Pres- 
byterian Church. 

ANIMALS OF TEXAS. 

A stranger, on first arriving in Texas, is struck with 
the large size and spreading horns of the cattle. Their 
large and superior forms are probably owing to the mild 
climate and the abundance of grass, which yields a rich 
supply of food at all seasons of the year. They require 
no other care than occasional herding to keep them 
gentle and prevent their straying, and to mark the 
calves. 

Hogs thrive admirably in Texas on grass, roots, mast, 
and fruits. Pork is easily converted into bacon, and 
preserved without difficulty, owing greatly to the pecu- 
liar dryness of the air. 

Herds of wild horses feed on the prairies, and increase 
in numbers as you proceed west. They are easily sub- 
dued to the saddle. The catching of a wild horse by a 
Mexican is a display of skill and valor which is truly 



212 TEXAS. 

wonderful. The ranchero on horseback dashes among 
the herd as they rush oyer the prairie, and swinging 
about his head his lariat — a platted rawhide with a run- 
ning noose at the end — he throws it with great accuracy 
over the neck of the wild animal, and in a few minutes 
he is run down and captured. Mules are also raised in 
great numbers, though perhaps not so good as those of 
Kentucky. 

ISTo country surpasses Texas in abundance of game. 
Immense herds of buffalo were still found, within a few 
years past, in the northwestern settlements. Deer flock 
over every prairie. Wild turkeys, the prairie hen, par- 
tridges, the delicate rice-bird, with numerous others, are 
found in great numbers. During the winter, the bays 
are alive with thousands of wild geese and ducks. The 
flamingo is occasionally seen to display its brilliant 
plumage. The stately swan frequents the waters of the 
bays; and around the houses of the plantations the 
mocking-bird sings its melodious notes. 

In all the waters, fish, of the choicest kind, abound. 
Along the coast are oysters of the largest size and finest 
flavor. 

The fiercest wild animal in Texas is probably the 
panther, though it is rarely met with. There are also 
bears, wolves and a few wild-cats. Among the lesser 
animals are the opossum, rabbit, and gray squirrel. 

EAELT CHTJECHES IN TEXAS. 

In a previous article it will be seen that the Method- 
ist Church sent the largest number of clergymen, in 
early times, to Texas. 

The first Baptist preacher who came to the country, 
was the Eev. Joseph Bays, who emigrated from Mis- 
souri, and preached on Peach Creek, on the west side of 



TEXAS. 213 

the Brazos, in the year 1826. In a short time he re- 
moved to San Antonio, where he continued to labor 
until he was ordered away by the Mexican authorities. 
In 1829, a number of Baptists, who came from New 
York, established the first Sabbath-school in the country, 
in the town of San Felipe. It was taught by T. J. Pil- 
grim, who was the interpreter of the Spanish language 
in Austin's colony. The same year another Sabbath- 
school was opened at Matagorda, and in the year follow- 
ing a similar one was started at " Old Caney," by 
members of the same Church. After this time, many 
members and ministers of the Baptist Church came to 
the country and organized churches in different parts 
of the State. 

In the year 1838, the Key. Caleb S. Ives, of the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church, arrived at Matagorda, where 
he collected a congregation, established a school, and 
built a church. He continued to labor until 1849, when 
he died. In the fall of 1838, the Eev. E. M. Chapman, 
of the same Church, came to Houston and organized a 
parish. In 1840, he was succeeded by Kev. H. B. God- 
win. 

In the spring of 1840, the Rt. Rev. Leonidas Polk 
(late General Polk of the Confederate army) visited and 
explored the country between the Trinity and the Colo- 
rado. In 1844, the Rt. Rev. G. W. Freeman, Bishop of 
Arkansas, visited the churches of Texas, and continued 
his visits annually for several years. In 1841, the Rev. 
B. Eaton was sent out, as a missionary, to Galveston 
and Houston. On January 1, 1849, a separate diocese 
was organized for Texas with six clergymen. Since 
that time the Episcopal Church has continued to grow 
both in numbers and influence. 

The Presbyterian Church was not among the pioneer 
churches in Texas. About the year 1838, the Rev. 



214 TEXAS. 

Hugh Wilson arrived in the new republic. lie was ' 
probably the first Presbyterian minister who settled in 
Texas. He organized a Presbyterian Church in San 
Augustine shortly after his arrival, and in the year follow- 
ing established one at Independence. He was a labori- 
ous and useful man, and will always stand high among 
the first ministers of the Gospel in Texas. The Eev. 
John McCulloch came to Galveston about the same 
time, and gathered a congregation and founded a Sab- 
bath-school under many disadvantages. The state of 
morals and religion in the Island City at that time was 
not very favorable to the efforts of the young mission- 
ary.* 

With the Rev. W. Y. Allen, at Houston, and Rev. W. 
C. Blair, P. H. Fullenwider, I. J. Henderson, F. Ruther- 
ford, and a few others, located at different points in the 
State, the Presbyterian Church began, about the year 
1840, to take a position among the other religious de- 
nominations in the country, and has been gradually 
advancing in influence and usefulness until the present 
time. As most of the clergymen referred to are still 
living, we can say but little more respecting them than 
merely to give their names. 

The most laborious and useful minister of the Pres- 
byterian Church, who ever lived in Texas, was the Rev. 
Dr. Baker, who died within a few years past at Austin. 
He was a man of great energy and apostolic zeal. All 
could see that his sole aim and purpose was to preach 
the Gospel and do good to the souls of men. Coming 
to Texas as a missionary about the year 1840, he visited 
almost every part of the State, and preached most abun- 
dantly. In all weathers and in all places, he showed 
himself the fearless soldier of the cross. With a fine 

* Mr. McCulloch died within the last three years. 



TEXAS. 215 

person, a silvery voice, and often with melting eyes, he 
presented the great truths of salvation in such a man- 
ner as to attract large congregations, and win many 
converts to Christ. At last, after a long and useful 
ministry, he died a peaceful and happy death in the city 
of Austin. The college at Huntsville owes its existence 
to his exertions. 



LETTER FROM NASHY1LLE. 



THE TEXAS DEAD AT THE BATTLE OE FRAXEXEN". 



Nashville, Tennessee, Nov. 26, 1867. 
Bei^g in attendance as a delegate from Texas to the 
Southern General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church 
now in session in this city, I accepted an invitation a 
few days ago to visit the mansion of Colonel John Mc- 
Gavock at Franklin, twenty miles from Nashville, that 
I might partake of his princely hospitality and view the 
quiet resting-place of those Southern soldiers who fell 
in the disastrous battle of Franklin on the 30th of De- 
cember, 1864. Three Louisiana friends accompanied 
me. Here repose, in peaceful graves, the mortal remains 
of nearly fifteen hundred Confederate soldiers who fell 
on that eventful day. Around their silent dust an ele- 
gant iron fence is now near its completion, erected by 
the citizens of Galveston, Houston, and the surround- 
ing villages, through the agency of Miss Gay, of Georgia, 
whose presence in Houston some months ago will be 
remembered by many, and whose faithful disbursement 
of the funds contributed, together with the names of 
every Texian contributor, is attested by documents now 
in the hands of Colonel McGavock. In full view of the 
mansion, and on a gently-sloping lawn, we entered the 
gate, and paced solemnly down the smooth walk that 



LETTER FROM NASHVILLE. 217 

separates the long rows of rounded hillocks where, in 
regular order, are interred the remains of Mississippians 
and Tennesseans, soldiers from Georgia, Alabama, and 
Texas — each in his warrior bed, on which is inscribed 
the name, company, and former residence of the occu- 
pant. With emotions which patriotic and Christian 
hearts alone can fully feel, and with silent tears on the 
cheeks of men not used to weep, we advanced from 
grave to grave. We thought of the bloody strife and 
of these sad results. Here lies the mangled body of 
many a father who came far from home to fight the 
battles of his country ; of many a son, the pride of his 
mother ; of many a brother, the idol of fond sisters, and 
many more, bound to distant ones by still tenderer and 
holier ties. 

But the largest share of our attention and the deep- 
est sympathy of our hearts were elicited, as we stopped 
and lingered long around that portion of the ground 
where lie the dead from Texas. There are fifty-nine in 
all, with the name of the Lone Star State inscribed on 
each tablet. Here they lie, far from home, and many a 
heart was left desolate by their, fall. How grateful 
should those Texas parents feel, whose sons were spared 
through many a bloody conflict, and are now at their 
happy firesides, cheering their households by their pres- 
ence, and cultivating the arts of peace. Why were these 
taken and others left ? Why did my friend's son fall 
and mine escape? "Even so, Father, for so it seemed 
good in thy sight." 

But we would not omit to say, that on many of the 
tablets of the Texas dead no name is lettered; but in 
its stead is simply the word "Unknown!" — unknown, 
alas, his name, his age, his calling — unknown the place 
where his kindred dwell — and unknown to kindred 
where lies the body of their lost Texan ! As the sad 
10 



218 LETTER FROM NASHVILLE. 

word " unknown " was repeated with a low and saddened 
yoice which 1 thought none near me could hear, the 
imposing form of an old friend (not of the clerical pro- 
fession) advanced to my side, and with quivering lips 
uttered these cheering words : 

' ' Unknown ' is all the epitaph can tell — 
If Jesus knew thee — all is well." 

I now looked around and inquired where lie the re- 
mains of General Granberry — that man of classic taste, 
and commanding form, and trumpet voice — Granberry, 
once my pupil, who sat in my recitation-room for four 
full years, in the quiet groves of Oakland College. " He 
is not yet here," replied our host ; " but as soon as his 
Texas friends shall request his removal from a neighbor- 
ing farm, he shall come here also, to repose among his 
friends who fell with him on the field of battle." 

To those in Texas who have friends buried in this at- 
tractive spot, I would add that if they have inquiries to 
make, or requests to present respecting their dead, they 
may communicate without reserve with Colonel McGav- 
ock, the proprietor of the premises, who will cheerfully 
and promptly impart all needed information. And to 
some who may ask to be more fully informed respecting 
the agency of Miss Gay, who presented the claims of 
the cemetery to their consideration, I may add that no 
one more worthy of their confidence could have been 
selected to convey their offerings to the place designated. 



THE 

FIRST PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL SERMON 

PREACHED IK HEW ORLEANS. 



The Eev. Benjamin Chase, D.D., of eighty years of 
age, the oldest Presbyterian clergyman of the South- 
west, recently deceased at Natchez, in a letter dated 
November 28, 1869, writes as follows: 

" The Eev. Jedediah Smith was a Congregational 
minister, with twelve children, ten of whom accompanied 
him from Granville, Massachusetts, to the Natchez 
country, in 1776. On his way, landing at what was 
called the Island of Orleans, under the dominion of 
Spain, he was there seized by the Romish priesthood, 
all his property was confiscated, and his library burned 
on the levee. 

" After his release he obtained a keel-boat, and with 
the aid of his sons slowly and tediously ascended the 
Mississippi, in the month of July, as far as Loftns 
Heights, now Fort Adams. Exposed to the midsummer 
sun, and unaccustomed to the climate, he was taken 
sick, and the boat was left to the management of his sons, 
who conducted it to Natchez, where he died soon after 
his arrival, and was buried below the Bluff, not far from 
Fort Rosalie. In a few years the bank of the river 
broke away, and ever afterwards rendered the place of 
his interment unknown. Six of his sons, viz., William, 
Josephus, Philetus, Israel, Philander, and Calvin, with 
two daughters, Sarah and Philomela, settled on Second 
and St. Catharine Creeks, within eight or ten miles from 
Natchez, became wealthy, influential and highly re- 
spectable families, and many of their children and de- 



220 FIRST PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL SERMON 

scendants became members of the Presbyterian church. 
Two of the sons, Luther and Courtland, settled on 
Bayou Sarah, then West Florida, where they resided for 
upwards of fifty years. Their families became the most 
wealthy and respectable in that community. 

" In September, 1805, Bishop Benjamin Moore, of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, New York, received a 
letter from James M. Bradford, James C. Williamson, 
and Edward Livingston, dated. New Orleans, August 
12, 1805, requesting him to send them a minister of the 
gospel, of the Protestant Episcopal denomination, 
adding, ' It is to be recollected, that his supporters are 
not only of his own persuasion, but also Presbyterians, 
Catholics, etc/ Bishop Moore recommended the Kev. 
Philander Chase, rector of the church of Poughkeepsie, 
N. Y., who consented to go, and arrived in New 
Orleans on the 13th of November. An act of incorpora- 
tion had been obtained on the 16th of November, and a 
vestry organized, consisting of the following persons: 
J. B. Provost, D. A. Hall, Benjamin Morgan, Joseph 
Saul, William Kenney, Joseph McNiel, George T. Ross, 
Charles Norwood, Andrew Burk, R. D. Shepherd, 
Richard Relf, Ed. Livingston, J. McDonough, T. P. 
Sanderson, and A. R. Ellery. 

"On Sunday, November 17, 1805, at 11 a.m., the 
Rev. Philander Chase preached the first Protestant 
sermon ever delivered in New Orleans or Louisiana ; 
and on Wednesday a vote of thanks was voted by the 
vestry to Mr. Chase, for his readiness and zeal in ten- 
dering his services, proffering him a salary of $2,000 per 
annum, and a house, or nearly 83,000 yearly in lieu of 
it, which he accepted, as their rector, and remained 
until the autumn of 1811, when he returned to the 
North, and became rector of Christ Church, Hartford* 
Connecticut. 



PREACHED IN NEW ORLEANS. 221 

" In 1815, soon after the close of the war with Eng- 
land, Mr. James Hull (said to have been a licentiate of 
the Presbyterian Church, Ireland) came to New Orleans 
from Georgia, and after preaching for a few months to 
the Protestant congregation, went to New York, and, 
unexpectedly to many of the people, received ordination 
from the Episcopal Bishop ; returned to New Orleans, 
and became rector of the Episcopal church, Alfred Hen- 
nan, Esq., becoming one of the vestry. Mr. Hull ended 
his days in New Orleans. 

" On the 30th of December, 1817, the Rev. Elias Cor- 
nelius, on an agency to the southwestern Indians, for 
the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign 
Missions, arrived in New Orleans; and much to the 
gratification and delight of the Protestant worshipers, 
preached several times, while awaiting the arrival of 
the Rev. Sylvester Earned, who came on the 22d of 
January, 1818. The people were charmed with Mr. 
Earned's eloquence and powers ; and, on the 9th of 
February, held a meeting to take measures for the 
erection of a second Protestant house of worship for his 
'accommodation, and subscribed $6,200 for that object; 
and soon after increased it to $40,000, and extended to 
him a call to become their pastor, with a salary of 
$4,000 per annum, which he accepted. The church 
edifice was erected the following year (1819), and on 
the 31st of August, 1820, Mr. Earned died of yellow 
fever." (See Rev. R. R. Gurley's Life of Sylvester 
Lamed.) 

Note. — In the following articles I am materially indebted to 
the Rev. Henry McDonald, now of Texas, who has placed at 
my disposal the following reminiscences of the early times in 
Mississippi. From materials so ample, from a source so 
authentic, from an old friend so accurate and so perfectly 
reliable, I have condensed into a small space the richest portion 
of the early history of the South-west. 



BEGINNINGS OF 

PKESBYTERI ANISM IN MISSISSIPPI. 



The religious history of the Southwest received a 
coloring from its civil and political history. In 1682 
La Salle, the able French commandant of Fort Fronte- 
nac, situated on Lake Ontario, below the site of the 
modern city of Buffalo, with thirty-five other French- 
men — one of them was a Jesuit priest and missionary — 
penetrated from that fort to the head waters of Illinois 
Eiver. He descended the river to its confluence with 
the Mississippi, and the Mississippi to its confluence 
with the Gulf of Mexico ; and was the first white man 
who ever beheld the mouth of the " Great Father of 
Waters." At this point he erected a column, on which 
he erected the arms of France and the Cross. Before 
this cross he performed solemn religious ceremonies, 
and in the name of France and the Pope took formal 
possession of the country, on both sides of the river, 
from the top of the Alleghany to the Pacific Ocean. 
The French occupation established the Church of 
Rome in this magnificent empire, and excluded from 
it the Protestant worship. The preaching of the Gos- 
pel was probably not attempted. As the result of the 
war which grew out of the conflicting boundaries of 
the French and British colonies, in which the world 
became involved in 1763, France ceded to Great Britain, 
Canada and all the countries east of the Mississippi, 
except the Island of New Orleans ; and Spain ceded to 
Great Britain, Florida. Great Britain erected Florida 
into two provinces, under the names of East and West 



PRESBYTERIANISM IN MISSISSIPPI. 223 

Florida, and attached the section known as the Natchez 
country to West Florida. Eeligious liberty was estab- 
lished under British rule, and gratuitous grants of 
land were made to settlers. This benign policy drew 
to the Natchez country some valuable citizens. Among 
them was the Rev. Samuel Swayze, who, with his broth- 
er, Eichard Swayze, and a number of emigrant fami- 
lies, mostly his married children and relations, in 1773 
emigrated from New Jersey and settled on the Homo- 
chitto River, on the Ogden grant, and near what after- 
wards was called the town of Kingston. It became 
known as the " Jersey settlement." The Rev. Samuel 
Swayze had been a Congregational minister in New 
Jersey for many years, and most of his children and 
relatives had been members of his church in that State. 
Soon after their arrival in their new homes in the wil- 
derness, he organized them into a Congregational 
church. It was the first church of any Protestant de- 
nomination ever organized in the Southwest, and Mr. 
Swayze was the first Protestant minister. The names 
of these colonists were : Swayze, Farrar, Fowler, Cole- 
man, Calender, Corey, King, Douglas, Lucy, Hopkins, 
Griffing, etc. Their descendants constitute numerous 
and influential families in Louisiana, Mississippi, Ar- 
kansas, and Texas ; and they have contributed largely 
in shaping the destiny of the Methodist, Presbyterian, 
and Baptist Churches in these great States. The old 
graveyard is still seen in Kingston, and in it is the 
grave of the father of Rev. Timothy D wight, D. D. He 
and his brother-in-law, General Lyman, lost their title- 
deeds to all that rich body of land embracing the city 
of Natchez and the surrounding region. 

One result of the American revolutionary war was, 
that Great Britain ceded to Spain East and West 
Florida. The Natchez country was made a Spanish 



224 BEGINNINGS OF PRESBYTERIANISM 

province, and continued under Spanish rule for eighteen 
years. This event closed the Southwest against the 
preaching of the .Gospel. Protestant worship was 
strictly forbidden. The Congregational Church in 
Jersey settlement, southwest of Natchez, was broken 
up, and never re-organized. Kev. Samnel Swayze and* 
wife died eleven years after coming to the country, and 
were buried on the Bluff, near Fort Eosalie, where the 
entire graveyard was precipitated into the river. Per- 
sons detected in religious worship not in conformity 
with the Catholic Church were now cast into the 
Natchez prison. Protestant marriages were forbidden. 
As a condition of the release of Protestant prisoners, 
they were threatened, on renewal of their offense, to be 
sent as slaves to the mines of Mexico. Thrilling scenes 
occurred; of worship, with sentinels picketed out to 
give notice of the approach of executioners of the law; 
and traditions have been handed down among the de- 
scendants of old families, as precious memorials of a 
pious and heroic ancestry. Among the faithful and 
true Christian men who suffered imprisonment for 
holding religious meetings, were John Bolls, a ruling 
elder in the Presbyterian church, and the Eev. Eichard 
Curtis, a Baptist preacher. 

But the Head of the Church had designed not to 
keep the Southwest long closed against the progress of 
the Gospel. During the night of the 29th of March, 
1798, the Spanish governor, with the troops under his 
command, secretly evacuated Fort Eosalie and departed 
for New Orleans; and early the next morning the 
American flag was raised, and American jurisdiction 
proclaimed. This act conferred religious liberty on the 
province. Soon after, the Eev. Mr. Curtis, who had 
suffered imprisonment for preaching the Gospel, organ- 
ized a Baptist Church, called Salem. It was the 



in Mississippi. 225 

first church organized under the American rule. It 
was located on the south branch of Coles's Creek, ten 
miles from the present site of the town of Fayette, in 
Jefferson County. The house of worship has disap- 
peared, but the graveyard is preserved, and on the 
gravestones are inscribed the names of many pioneers 
of religion and influence. At the date of the organiza- 
tion of this church Mr. Curtis was the only minister of 
any Protestant denomination in the territory. He died 
in 1818, at an advanced age, in Amite County, Mississippi. 

The next minister of the Gospel who arrived in the 
province was the Eev. Tobias Gibson, who arrived in 
April, 1799, and in 1800 organized a Methodist Church 
at Washington, the seat of the territorial government, 
six miles east of Natchez. In 1804 he died, and was 
buried near Warrenton, below Vicksburg, and a suitable 
monument marked his grave. Who can enumerate the 
descendants of the Gibsons ? 

The Presbyterian Church was the next to enter the 
field. It was by a missionary enterprise of the Synod 
of North Carolina, the jurisdiction of which extended 
at that time over the States of North Carolina, South 
Carolina, and Georgia. But the charter granted by the 
British government included within Georgia all the 
territory west of the present limits of that State to the 
Mississippi River, constituting the present States of 
Alabama and Mississippi. After Georgia, in 1803, re- 
linquished this territory to the Federal government, the 
Synod of Carolina continued for many years to be the 
nearest Presbyterial jurisdiction. On the establishment 
of American civil authority over the Mississippi Terri- 
tory, in 1798, it naturally came under the ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction of the Synod of Carolina; and that Synod 
immediately adopted efficient measures to send the 
Gospel and plant the Church in it. 
10* 



226 BEGINNINGS OF PBESBYTEEIANISM 

The mode of conducting domestic missions at that 
day seems to have been derived from the Kirk of Scot- 
land, under the idea that it was the development of the 
divinely-appointed system of church government, with- 
out any addition of human inventions. It was prac- 
ticed by the Presbyterian Church from its earliest 
planting on the American continent, and continued to 
be practiced for many years, until it was modified, and 
to some extent superseded, by innovations derived from 
the plan of union with the Congregational Church, in 
the form of voluntary societies and ecclesiastical boards. 
The old plan was for the Church to conduct her mis- 
sions through the immediate agency of her own divine- 
ly ordained courts, which appointed the missionaries, 
and provided for their support. 

BEV. JAMES SMYLIE. 

The second Presbyterian minister who settled per- 
manently in the Southwest, was Eev. James Smylie. 
He was born in North Carolina, of highland Scotch 
parentage, about the year 1780. He received his clas- 
sical and theological education at G-uildford, under the 
Eev. Dr. Caldwell ; and was licensed and ordained by 
the Orange Presbytery. In 1805, soon after he was 
ordained, he was sent by the Synod of North Carolina, as 
a missionary, to the Territory of Mississippi. He settled 
at Washington, the capital of the Territory, and took 
charge of the church gathered by the missionary who 
preceded him. In 1811 Mr. Smylie removed to Amite 
County, and engaged actively in the work of the minis- 
try in that region. He organized a number of churches 
in that section of Mississippi and the contiguous par- 
ishes of Louisiana. He planted Christianity and Pres- 
byterianism over a wide extent of country, and greatly 
elevated the standard of education. Many of his 



in Mississippi. 227 

scholars became leading men. In 1814 he traveled on 
horseback, through the Choctaw and Chicasaw nations, 
to Tennessee, to attend a meeting of the West Tennes- 
see Presbytery, in order to get that Presbytery to peti- 
tion the Synod of Kentucky for the creation of a new 
Presbytery for the Southwest. The Synod, at their 
sessions in 1815, granted the petition, and erected the 
new Presbytery of Mississippi, with jurisdiction from 
Perdido indefinitely westward. Their first act, after 
organizing, was to pass a vote of thanks to Mr. Smylie 
for procuring the organization. Their second act was 
to elect him as their stated clerk, which office he filled 
with great acceptance, until the division of the body 
into the three Presbyteries of Mississippi, Clinton, and 
Amite, and he fell into the bounds of the latter body. 

When the storm of abolitionism arose, and swept with 
the violence of a hurricane over the coun try, he was one 
of the first men to oppose it. He prepared a sermon 
giving the Scriptural views on the suhject, and preached 
it extensively over the country. In 1836 the Presbyt- 
ery of Chilicothe addressed a violent abolition letter to 
the Presbytery of Mississippi. This letter Mr. Smylie 
answered, and published his answer in a pamphlet. 
The pamphlet was extensively circulated, and the whole 
question of domestic slavery was universally agitated^ 
and influenced the legislation of the country. It was 
regarded as a sort of text-book on the subject, and 
exerted a large influence in shaping the subsequent 
course of the South both in Church and State. 

In his old age he devoted his time exclusively to the 
instruction of the negroes. He collected large congre- 
gations of them. In addition to his preaching to them, 
and expounding to them the Holy Scriptures, he taught 
them the larger and shorter catechisms, and large 
classes of them could repeat the whole of these formu- 



228 BEGINNINGS OF PRESBYTERIANISM 

laries by memory. He was earnest and bold in preach- 
ing before bis brethren in the ministry, and the masters 
and owners of negroes, the paramount duty of impart- 
ing to them religious instruction. He had an acute 
and original mind, and was a close observer and careful 
thinker. He was an accurate Latin and Greek scholar, 
a profound theologian, and a thorough Calvinist. His 
sermons were remarkable for their great simplicity and 
perspicuity, and were always listened to with attention 
and interest. He was thoroughly versed in all the busi- 
ness of the Church; and in ecclesiastical courts his 
views generally prevailed. In private life he was re- 
markable for candor, integrity, and truth. He had 
wonderful power in conciliating and pleasing those 
with whom he had intercourse, and his great business 
habits gave him great weight of character. His word, 
on any subject, was regarded as settling the question. 
He was thrice married, and left one child by each mar- 
riage — a daughter and two sons — all of whom are mar- 
ried, and have large families. He died in 1853, aged 
seventy-three years. He left many valuable manu- 
scripts behind him, but, by a strange misunderstanding 
among his family and friends, nothing has ever yet 
seen the light, excepting " Smylie on Slavery." 

The third Presbyterian minister who permanently 
settled in the Southwest was the Eev. Jacob Eickhow, 
who was born in 1768, on Staten Island, N. Y. His 
parents were the earliest settlers of the place ; his father 
of a Dutch, and his mother of an English family. He 
was often heard to speak of the impression made on his 
mind, when only eight years old, by witnessing a skir- 
mish between some British and American troops, at 
Perth Amboy. He had not the advantage of a collegiate 
or classical education. "When he was between twenty- 
one and twenty-four years of age he began to preach in 



in Mississippi. 229 

connection with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
was ordained to the work of the ministry by Bishop 
Asbury. In 1808 he and another minister were re- 
ceived into the Presbytery of New Brunswick. Arriving 
in Natchez in June following, he there opened a school, 
and preached to a little flock of Presbyterians. In 1801 
he one day met, in Natchez, with Mr. Dugald Torrey, 
who invited him to send an appointment to the Scotch 
settlement of Presbyterians in the adjoining county of 
Jefferson. He complied with the request, and kept up 
a stated monthly appointment in connection with his 
Natches labors, some thirty miles distant. A tem- 
porary bush arbor was erected, which was soon sup- 
planted by a log house .of worship. A considerable con- 
gregation was collected, a ruling elder elected, and the 
church was named Ebenezer, by which it is called to 
this day. In 1814 he removed to a farm in the vicinity 
of Port Gibson, where he remained until the death of 
his wife, which occurred but a few years before his own 
death. In 1817 he was appointed, by the General As- 
sembly, itinerant missionary to Amite County and the 
neighboring parishes of Louisiana. At a later day he 
became the great missionary to the Piny "Woods coun- 
ties of Eastern Mississippi, in the region of Pearl Eiver. 
Then you saw him in all his glory. In the hot days of 
August, he was mounted on his gray mare, with solemn 
pace traversing those long stretches through the piny 
woods, and with his reproving frown, curbing those young 
blades that accompanied him, Chamberlain, Helme, 
Butler, and Hutchison! He had the true spirit of a 
pioneer preacher. The Piny Woods churches seemed 
to belong to him. No sacramental meeting, or baptism 
of a child, seemed to be right without his presence. He 
was indefatigable in his long journeys on horseback, 
and in his old age enduring the fatigue of all weathers 



230 BEGINNINGS OF PKESBTTEEIANISM 

and all seasons for the glorious privilege of preaching 
the Gospel. But he had marked peculiarities. He was 
a great stickler for English grammar, accurate in the 
use of words, and in precise conformity to dates. He 
would' never forget a lapsus linguce dropped by a young 
brother. Having been a sailor in his youth, he con- 
tended, with great warmth, that there was no such 
things as " equinoctial storms." Being called upon to 
ask a blessing over a Sabbath dinner, he refused, by 
asserting " that this food was cooked on Sunday." Be- 
cause of his constant and inseparable intimacy with his 
venerable brother, Eev. W. Montgomery, Dr. George 
Potts called them the " Siamese Twins." After the 
death of his wife he removed to Mississippi City, where 
he resided with his son-in-law, and died November 23, 
1855, at the advanced age of 87 years. 

In a letter to his intimate friend, Rev. Dr. Butler, of 
Port Gibson, dated October 30, about three weeks before 
his death, and doubtless the last words he ever wrote, 
he said : " I wish and desire, like Paul, in whatever 
state I am, therewith to be content. I do not despond. 
I remember what the Psalmist says, 'I have been 
young and now am old, yet I have not seen the right- 
eous forsaken, or his seed begging bread/ I do not 
claim to be righteous, only as I hope to stand justified 
by the imputed righteousness of Christ. I wish to be 
entirely conformed to the Divine will. 



BEGINNINGS OP 

PRESBYTERIAMSM Df THE SOUTHWEST. 



The modern facilities for travel were unknown at 
the beginning of the present century. The only mode 
of travel was on horseback. The route was first to 
Nashville, and from that place to Natchez, through the 
nations of the Shawnee, Cherokee, Chickasaws, and 
Choctaw Indians, over a road known as " The Natchez 
Trace" — the only road known in the country. It was 
infested by a numerous band of robbers, under the 
celebrated Mason ; and the stories of Mason and the 
Harpes, handed down by tradition, were as romantic as 
the adventures of Robin Hood. It was not unusual for 
travelers on the road to be killed and robbed. So com- 
mon were these deeds of violence, that to see a human 
body covered with blood by the roadside, the pockets 
and saddle-bags rifled, gave no surprise ; and such were 
the perils of that long journey through the wilderness, 
that travelers always set out well armed, prepared to 
meet the most dangerous emergencies. The thought of 
adventuring on it under other conditions never occurred 
to the most daring men. But these missionaries were 
prompted by motives different from other travelers. 
Their motives were not to become owners of any of those 
large tracts of fertile land which were thrown open to 
ordinary adventurers. They set out on that road with- 
out carnal weapons or defensive armor, save an un- 
wavering faith, in their Divine leader, and the protec- 
tion of an overruling Providence. They traveled on 
horseback, with an extra horse as a pack-horse, on 



232 BEGINNINGS OF PEESBTTEEIANISM 

which they carried their provisions and camp-fixtures. 
They cooked their own provisions, camped out at night, 
and forded the rivers and swollen streams. When they 
pitched their tents at nightfall, and sat round their 
blazing fire, the lonely forests rung with their hymns 
of lofty cheer. 

In the northern part of the present State of Missis- 
sippi, near the site of the modern town of Pontotoc, 
which was then occupied by the Chickasaw Indians, 
they called and spent the night at the mission station, 
which three years before Eev. Joseph Bullen had estab- 
lished among the Indians. To a late hour in the night 
they sat up, and talked over their plans for extending 
the Bedeemer's kingdom in the great South. Mr. 
Samuel Bullen, recently deceased, near Fayette, Missis- 
sippi, at an advanced age, related this visit of the mis- 
sionaries to his venerable father as one of the most 
pleasing reminiscences of his life. He was then a boy. 
Soon after leaving Nashville they fell in company 
with some men who were driving horses to the South 
for some families who had gone down the river in boats. 
These travelers contributed their company and security, 
but were not well supplied with provisions, supposing 
that they could easily purchase all they might need 
from the Indians. But the Indians at that season had 
mostly gone west of the Mississippi, on their fall hunt. 
Consequently the travelers were nearly reduced to star- 
vation. The missionaries shared their provisions with 
them. Their stock of provisions became exhausted, 
and at last all was gone except a little meal, which was 
equally divided. This they mixed with a little water, 
and ate with thankful hearts, calling it "gruel." At 
one time they caught a racoon, which they ate without 
salt or condiments, giving God the glory. They pressed 
forward night and day, as fast as their horses could 



IN THE SOUTHWEST. 233 

carry them, in the hope of relief. On the morning of 
December 4, 1800, about two o'clock, they drew near to 
a dwelling on Big Black River. The first intimation 
they had of their proximity to a human habitation was 
the crowing of a cock, which sounded in their ears 
like music. They hastened to the house, and without 
ceremony aroused the inmates, alleging starvation as 
their apology. They were kindly received, and bacon, 
corn-bread, and coffee were furnished them. Rev. 
William Montgomery, forty years after, in referring to 
this night's adventure, remarked, " It was a night never 
to be forgotten." " But light cometh in the morning." 

At Big Black the missionaries established a preaching 
station ; a few miles farther south, they established an- 
other station at Grindstone Ford ; a few miles farther 
south, they established another at Clark's Creek. The 
first town they reached was Port Gibson. In this town 
they did not find a single member of the Presbyterian 
Church, and not a professor of any other denomination. 
But they met with an intelligent and hospitable people, 
who treated them with great kindness. A few hours 
before their arrival, Mrs. Gibson, the wife of the origi- 
nal settler whose name was given to the town, 
had died. At the request of Mr. Gibson, Mr. Mont- 
gomery preached the funeral sermon. It was the first 
sermon of any description ever preached in the town, 
unless some one may have previously heard Rev. John 
Gibson or Rev. Mr. Curtis. 

A few miles southwest of the town, they found many 
Presbyterian families, exceedingly anxious for religious 
privileges. Here the people united and built a log 
church, and called it Bayou Pierre church. They con- 
tinued their course south, along the Natchez trace, until 
they crossed Coles's Creek. Here they found a small 
town, called Uniontown, to which they were attracted 



234 BEGINNINGS OF PKESBYTERIANISM 

by the name of Montgomery, where they found two 
brothers of that name, Samuel and Alexander Mont- 
gomery, who had emigrated to that vicinity from Ken- 
tucky, and originally from Georgia. They were plant- 
ers of influence. Alexander Montgomery had been the 
speaker of the first territorial legislature of Mississippi. 
They were Presbyterians, and found others, anxious, 
with them, to secure religious privileges. Among their 
neighbors, there were seven families, who had emigrated 
from New Jersey with Rev. Samuel Swayze, and had 
united with him in forming the church at Kingston. 
After this church had been broken up by the Spaniards, 
these families had settled at Uniontown. Their names 
were Jeremiah Coleman, Israel Coleman, Ephraim 
Coleman, John Griffing, Alexander Callender, Archi- 
bald Douglass and Stephen Douglass. 

A few miles distant was Eelix Hughes, an intelligent 
Irishman of Episcopal education, whose wife had been 
a devout member of the Presbyterian Church in North 
Carolina. Sufficiently near to unite with them, was 
the renowned John Bolls, of blessed memory, and who 
shall often appear in this volume, who, under the Span- 
ish rule, had braved the tyrants' wrath in behalf of re- 
ligion, and suffered imprisonment for holding prayer- 
meetings. He had been a ruling elder of Hopewell 
church, in South Carolina, before the Revolutionary 
War, was in the Mecklenburg Convention when the 
first Declaration of Independence was adopted, had 
served as a soldier in the Revolutionary army, was a 
man of devout piety and heroic courage, and helped to 
lay the foundation of many churches in Mississippi. 

Three years after, in 1804, the foregoing named fam- 
ilies were organized into the first Presbyterian church 
ever organized in the Southwest, with Alexander 
Montgomery, John Bolls, Alexander Callender, and 



IN THE SOUTHWEST. 235 

John Griffing as ruling elders. In 1817, John Ales- 
worth, Daniel Huey and Joseph Parmalee were added 
to the session. The church has never become extinct, 
but exists at this time, in an enlarged form, and in a 
contiguous locality, under another name. " It shall be 
said of this man and of that man, he was born there." 
A true narrative of the first Presbyterian church ever 
organized in the great Southwest will relate the num- 
ber and names of the men who have become eminent in 
church and State, and who have planted the church in 
other sections, received in this church and under the 
influence it diffused, that moral training, which made 
them blessings to their country. The three missiona- 
ries, however, did not organize this church. They col- 
lected these families into a congregation, and formed 
the nucleus for a future church. These persons united 
and built a log house of worship on land belonging to 
Alexander Callender, and called it Callender's meeting- 
house. It was located near the southern bank of Coles's 
Creek, in sight of the road leading from Port Gibson to 
Natchez, in a cluster of beautiful trees, on land which 
now belongs to Wade Harrison. The house of worship 
has long since gone to decay ; but the graveyard is sa- 
credly preserved, and on the rough gravestones are 
engraved precious names, which are doubtless written 
in the book of life, and ought to be held in lasting re- 
membrance by all who love the founders of Southern 
Presbyterianism. 

The missionaries continued their course south, along 
the Natchez trace. The next point which they reached 
was "Washington, the capital of the territory. Here 
they found the state of things still more interesting. 
In the vicinity were many Presbyterian families of 
wealth, intelligence and high social position, to whom 
they proposed to establish a place of worship. 



236 BEGINNINGS OF PBESBYTEBIANISM 

The next point which they reached was Natchez, 
and there they found only one Presbyterian family. 
But that family was that of John Henderson, a name 
which has become identified with the Natchez church 
down to the present time, and has proved a tower of 
strength to the cause of Christ. In the vicinity of 
Natchez, they found some of the most eminent fami- 
lies who once belonged to Mr. Swayze's congregation, 
but dispersed by the Spanish authorities. Holding the 
same standard of doctrinal faith with the Presbyterian 
church, they readily co-operated with the missionaries. 
South of this point, they next reached Pinckneyville, 
not far from the boundary line of the Territory, as had 
been laid down by Andrew Ellicott, the surveyor, and 
whose book is now almost entirely gone out of print. 
There were nine preaching stations, which they estab- 
lished in Big Black, Grindstone Ford, Clark's Creek, 
Bayou Pierre, Callender's meeting-house, Washington, 
Natchez, Jersey settlement, and Pinckneyville. It has 
never been the custom or policy of the Presbyterian 
Church to organize churches hastily, or without pros- 
pects of permanence. Their plan seems to have been 
to explore the country, to hunt up the members of the 
church, who were scattered abroad like sheep without a 
shepherd, and, by the aid of leading members of the 
new communities, to establish, at eligible points, preach- 
ing stations and nuclei of future churches. Of the 
nine which they established, five were subsequently 
organized into churches, all of which exist at this time, 
in the original locations or in places contiguous, where 
greater convenience is secured for the mass of the com- 
munity. During the seventy years which have elapsed 
since these noble missionaries collected the scattered 
sheep in this vast wilderness, these congregations have 
passed through great changes — have had their joys and 



IN THE SOUTHWEST. 237 

sorrows. They have steadily poured their saving influ- 
ences over the communities where they have been lo- 
cated, and sent forth ten thousand streams of salvation, 
to gladden the hearts of millions then unborn. These 
five original churches constituted the germ of the first 
Presbytery which, in 1816, was organized at Pine Eidge, 
and extended from Perdido river indefinitely westward, 
and at this day embrace several entire synods. 

REV. W. MONTGOMERY. 

The fourth permanent Presbyterian minister, who 
permanently settled in the South, the Rev. William 
Montgomery, was born at Shippensburg, Pa., in 1768. 
In early youth, his father removed to South Carolina ; 
and some say that he graduated at the Chapel Hill 
University. He was an admirable classical scholar, and, 
late in life, his friend Horace was his vade mecum. He 
took a thorough course in theological studies, and was 
licensed and ordained in North Carolina. Mr. Huey, 
who heard him preach in 1810, describes him at that 
time, as quite young in personal appearance, handsome 
to a fault, dignified, candid and kind, an example in 
manners, a stranger to everything hidden, and singu- 
larly animated and fluent in speech. He commenced 
preaching by writing his sermon in full, keeping his 
manuscript before him in the delivery. At an early 
day in his ministry, he changed his method, and 
preached without notes. In his best days, he was a 
preacher of great popularity, and drew large audiences. 
In the year 1800, the Synod of Carolina selected him, 
in connection with Rev. James Hall and Rev. James 
Bowman, as missionaries to the new territory of Mis- 
sissippi, then just coming under American jurisdiction. 
The Rev. Dr. Ashbel Green, in his history of the mis- 
sions of the Presbyterian Church, represents the pre- 



238 BEGINNINGS OF PKESBYTEKIANISM 

eminent success of these young missionaries. They 
planted the germ of the first Presbyterian churches in 
the Southwest, which, in 1816, were formed into the 
Presbytery of Mississippi, and at one time embraced the 
present Synods of Alabama, Mississippi, Memphis, Ar- 
kansas and Texas. When this mission was completed, 
Mr. Montgomery returned to Georgia, and settled as 
pastor of the church of Lexington, in that State. Soon 
after his settlement at that place, he was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Lane, niece of General Joseph Lane, who, 
in 1860, was the candidate for the vice-presidency of the 
United States, on the ticket with John C. Breckenridge 
for the presidency. It was during his ministry in that 
place, that the great awakening and revival of religion 
prevailed over that section, attended with the extraordi- 
nary nervous convulsions, called the "jerks." In this 
great revival, he was one of the most active and useful 
laborers. At first he was suspicious of these strange 
physical phenomena. But at last he became convinced 
of their adaptedness to the times, and the people. In 
1810, he once more visited Mississippi, with the view 
of finding a permanent field of labor. In 1811, he re- 
moved, with his family, to Washington, the territorial 
capital, and became President of Jefferson College, at 
that place. But he soon resigned this position, that he 
might devote all his time to the work of the ministry. 
He was pastor of Pine Eidge church, in connection with 
other fields of labor. Soon after his arrival, in 1811, one 
day in Natchez, he was introduced to a stranger, Mr. 
Dugald Torrey, who became his friend for life. At his 
request, he sent an appointment to Ebenezer church, 
which Rev. Jacob Rickhow a short time previously had 
organized in the Scotch settlement, in the adjoining 
county of Jefferson. This appointment resulted in a 
call to become pastor of the two churches, of Ebenezer 



IN THE SOUTHWEST. 239 

and Union, which he accepted, in connection with his 
charge at Pine Kidge church. Subsequently, by the aid 
of Mr. Torrey, he purchased a section of land, on which 
he raised a large family, and resided during the remain- 
der of his life. He was pastor of Ebenezer and Union 
churches for thirty-seven years, from 1811 to 1848, for 
some years in connection with Pine Eidge and Har- 
mony church. But he finally gave up all other work, 
and devoted his time alternately to these two fields, and 
built them up to be finally the largest churches in the 
JSynod. Every year there were considerable accessions to 
their memberships. On one occasion, in 1852, the writer 
(J. H. H. ) witnessed an accession of thirty members to 
Union church. A spirit of devout piety always pre- 
vailed. Father Montgomery was scrupulous to meet all 
his appointments ; and, during his long ministry in this 
field, he failed only to meet two appointments, one fail- 
ure caused by the death of his wife, the other, by the 
death of a son. The inclemencies of the weather he 
never viewed as a sufficient excuse for absence. Hence, 
large congregations often attended through the rain, 
knowing that Mr. Montgomery would be sure to be 
there. His sermons were more didactic and instructive 
than emotional. During some periods of his ministry, 
flush times prevailed in the country, and opportunities 
for making fortunes even seized some of the clergy. 
But these temptations had no effect upon him. A good 
or bad season of crops affected him equally, and his life 
was the same under all circumstances. After his death, 
one of his neighbors remarked that his life was like the 
spring of water which gushed from a hill near his door, 
and which poured forth its clear stream through all 
seasons of the year, and through all years alike. Through 
all his life, his wants were well supplied, and when he 
died, he bequeathed considerable property to his chil- 



240 BEGINNINGS OF PRESBTTEEIANISM 

dren. He was never suspected by any one of unfair 
dealing, or of anything sinister or hidden. He was 
candid, honest and sincere. In his social intercourse, 
he was emphatically genial, with large stores of humor- 
ous anecdotes, collected in a long lifetime, which he 
could tell well. In old age, he was a great favorite with 
the young, and over a wide extent of country he ex- 
erted a great influence. One cause which contributed 
to this widespread influence, arose from the fact, that 
the older members of these churches were born in the 
Highlands of Scotland, and many others were of Scotch 
extraction, emigrants from North Carolina. But the 
standard of piety among them was elevated. They 
loved their pastor, and by their prayers and personal 
influence, held up his hands. This mutual affection 
was reciprocal, and closed only with the grave. At the 
time of his death, a living generation had grown up 
under his influence. He had baptized most of them in 
infancy, united most of their parents in marriage, and 
buried their dead. His last illness was received in that 
place and occupation where every faithful servant of 
Christ would love to be found. It was in the pulpit, 
preaching the Gospel. He rode to church, fifteen miles, 
in the rain, and preached in damp clothes. He took 
cold, which induced pneumonia. The. Kev. Henry 
McDonald preached his funeral sermon to a large con- 
gregation, and he was laid to rest beside his wife, who had 
preceded him several years. He died in 1848, was eighty 
years of age, and had been in the ministry fifty years 
He left two daughters and five sons, one of whom is Eev. 
Samuel Montgomery. One son, William, who was a can- 
didate for the ministry, died while a member of the senior 
class at Oakland College, a few weeks before he gradu- 
ated. "I was with him at the time," writes Mr. McDon- 
ald, " though at that time I was not a professor of religion. 



IN THE SOUTHWEST. 241 

The thought of an early death, so young, so sudden, 
so different from all human expectations and prospects, 
had rather a depressing effect upon his mind at first. 
But this depression was only momentary, and was suc- 
ceeded by the most intense joy. He conversed with all 
the students, told them his views and feelings, and fer- 
vently exhorted them to become Christians. This 
death-bed scene diffused deep religious convictions over 
all the students of the college, and was one of the cir- 
cumstances which brought a number of the students 
into the Christian ministry. It is not improbable that 
the sermons which young Montgomery preached from 
his death-bed were attended by greater results than the 
long ministry of many living preachers. 

EEV. ZEBULOH BUTLER, D. D. 

The Eev. Dr. Butler was born in Wilkesbarre, in 
Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, on September 27, 1803. 
His father was an officer in the revolutionary army 
under Washington. The name of his mother was 
Lord. His brother, Chester Butler, was a member of 
Congress. They were an Episcopal family of intelli- 
gence, refinement, and wealth. Dr. Butler was educated 
at Princeton College, and graduated in 1822. In col- 
lege he was regarded as a good scholar, of great amia- 
bility, and of great popularity among the students. In 
the early part of his collegiate course he was careless of 
religion, full of humor, always ready for amusement, 
mingling with the gay and wild students, and engaging 
in all their sports. But in his senior year a revival of 
religion prevailed in the college, of which he became a 
subject, and which changed the whole current of his 
life. After he graduated he took charge of an academy 
in his native town, and, in pursuance of a long-cher- 
ished plan, commenced the study of medicine. But, on 
11 



242 BEGINNINGS OF PEESBYTERIANISM 

reflection, he found that his public profession of religion 
involved a surrender of his plans and of himself to the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and left him no liberty to follow the 
promptings of worldly interest or human ambition. He 
lifted up his eyes and saw the fields white unto the har- 
vest, and the laborers few. Such thoughts deeply im- 
pressed him, and led him to select a course of action 
differing from the wishes of his friends and the great 
purposes of his life. After an earnest inquiry as to 
what the Lord would have him to do, all doubts were 
removed from his mind, and he submissively surren- 
dered himself to the convictions of a Divine call to the 
ministry. Under the force of this grand conviction he 
abandoned the study of medicine, and in the fall of 
1823 he entered the Theological Seminary at Princeton. 
During his senior year in the seminary Dr. Alexander 
one day placed in his hand a letter, written by some 
citizen of Yicksburg, Mississippi. In it was described 
the spiritual destitution of that place, and an earnest 
request was added, that some young man from the 
seminary should be sent to preach the Gospel to that 
new and growing city. This letter deeply affected Mr. 
Butler, and he promptly agreed to go. Soon after, he 
was licensed by the Presbytery ; and, mounting his 
horse, and after encountering many adventures on the 
way, he traveled by land to Vicksburg. He reached 
that place in the fall of 1826, being twenty-three years 
of age, and of exceedingly youthful appearance. There 
was not a single house of worship in the place, and no 
Presbyterian organization had been attempted, and 
only a feeble band of Methodists had been called to- 
gether under the ministry of Rev. John Lane. The 
only place of worship for all denominations was an 
upper room, the lower room being occupied as a 
drinking-saloon. Mr. Lane and Mr. Butler cordially 



IN THE SOUTHWEST. 243 

fraternized, and made common cause against the king- 
dom of Satan. Mr. Butler soon established a stated 
appointment at Clinton, a flourishing town, being before 
the location of the State capitol at Jackson. His way 
to that church was through the town of Port Gibson, 
and the only mode of travel was by horseback. As he 
was riding through the streets of the town some one 
hailed him, and placed a letter in his hand. It contained 
an invitation from the citizens to preach the Gospel 
to them. There was a single place of worship in the 
town. The Methodist brethren had a small church or- 
ganization. A few months after accepting the invita- 
tion of the people he organized a Presbyterian church 
in the Court-house, consisting of twelve members, and 
Mr. Alexander Armstrong was chosen ruling elder. He 
now commenced alternating with the people of Fayette, 
the new seat of government of Jefferson County; but 
the interest in religion among the citizens of Fort Gib- 
son soon demanded all his time. Many influential 
ladies united with the church. But there were scoffers 
in those days, unwilling to tolerate a mere boy in 
breaking up their gay amusements, and changing the 
whole order of things. Still he persevered. He studied 
hard, sat up late, burned the midnight lamp, and wrote 
his sermons with great care. He imparted singular 
pathos and animation to his delivery. He had the 
power of saying pathetic and persuasive things. His 
prayers had power. His lips seemed to be touched with 
a live coal from God's altar. Whole congregations were 
often melted to tears by his addresses to the throne of 
grace. His youthful and exceedingly handsome personal 
appearance imparted great attractions to his delivery. 
He held prayer-meetings, established Bible-classes and 
Sabbath-schools, and warned the people with tears, and 
from house to house. An extensive revival of religion 



244 BEGINNINGS OF PKESBYTERIANISM 

soon^ followed. The converts numbered persons of all 
classes. Among them were ladies who had been the 
leaders of fashion, lawyers, merchants, physicians, the 
old and the young, and many who had late been scoff- 
ers. The sound of the viol and the noise of mirth 
were soon hushed, and gave place to hymns of praise. 
Speedily a handsome brick church was erected, where 
for many succeeding years his words distilled like the 
dew. The neighboring churches sent for him, and 
many were added to the Lord. Over a wide extent of 
country his name became a household word, and for 
many long years he was regarded with unbounded con- 
fidence and affection. 

The leading and primary object of the founders of 
Oakland College was to raise up in the Southwest a 
native ministry. An unknown donor contributed 
$25,000 to endow a theological professorship. In 1837, 
the Presbytery of Mississippi, who at that time con- 
trolled the college, elected Mr. Butler temporary pro- 
fessor, until a permanent arrangement could be made. 
In a short time the Eev. S. Beach Jones, of New 
Jersey, was elected professor. The theological pro- 
fessorship continued for some years, and many young 
men, not merely of the Presbyterian, but of other 
churches, entered the ministry. In the meantime 
numerous calls from other churches poured in on Mr. 
Butler. He received calls from the McOord Church 
of Lexington, and from the First Church of Louis- 
ville, Kentucky, and from other city churches. He 
declined them all with so much promptitude that it 
soon became understood that he conceived himself as 
a fixture at Gibson. To the end of his life his 
brethren in the ministry regarded him as "the be- 
loved disciple." He always conceded, in all Presby- 
terial arrangements, a conspicuous place to his breth- 



IN THE SOUTHWEST. 245 

ren; and in all appointments of Presbytery he was 
always the most zealous and active in laboring in poor 
and desolate congregations. In 1860 the old church 
in which he had preached so long and so successfully 
was taken down and supplanted by a more elegant and 
costly edifice, at a cost of $40,000. But into this new 
house he was never permitted to enter. When nearly 
completed, one morning he rode round the building 
in a carriage, and with anxious eye surveyed its ex- 
terior, but was too weak to enter, and rode sadly away. 
He never left his room again. 

Several years of declining health were allotted to 
him. He was aware of his situation. Death found him 
with his lamp trimmed and his light burning. He 
spoke exultingly of his full assurance of faith, and 
immediate entrance into heaven. He spoke freely and 
fully of it to all his friends. His last words were, 
" Glory to God, glory to God ! " He died December 
23, 1860. 

In 1829 he was married to Miss Mary Ann Mur- 
doch, a lady eminently qualified to be a helpmeet 
to such a noble man, who went heart and soul with 
him in all his good works; and much of his success 
in the ministry was attributed to her influence. She 
was born in Ireland, in 1811, but in her infancy her 
parents emigrated to Port Gibson, where she was 
raised. She died October 5, 1863. They had eleven 
children, most of whom died young. Three sons and 
two daughters are still living. 

EBENEZER AND UNION" CHURCHES, IN MISSISSIPPI. 

On April 6, 1806, two keel-boats on the Mississippi 
were moored at the landing at Bruinsburg, containing 
four emigrant Presbyterian families, — George Torrey, 
Dugald Torrey, Dockland Currie, and Mr. Willis. 



246 BEGINNINGS OP PRESBYTEEIANISM 

George Torrey, Lockland Currie and Mr. Willis were 
born in the Highlands of Scotland, before the Kevolu- 
tionary War, but had settled for some years in North 
Carolina. The object in mooring their boats at Bruins- 
burg was to obtain information from Judge Bruin re- 
specting the new country east of Natchez. Dugald 
Torrey was selected to confer with Judge Bruin, who 
had recently been appointed Judge of the Supreme 
Court of the Territory. As he approached the house, 
he observed three gentlemen at the window, one of whom 
rose and came to meet him. To his joy and surprise, this 
gentleman proved to be his friend, the Eev. Mr. Brown, 
a Presbyterian minister, who came to the Territory as a 
missionary, from North Carolina. He had preached the 
day before in the neighborhood, and on that morning 
was on a visit to Judge Bruin, with Waterman Crane. 
These gentlemen conceived a warm friendship for the 
emigrants. By their advice, instead of descending the 
river to Natchez, the strangers ascended the Bayou 
Pierre to Port Gibson, in the vicinity of which they 
rented a temporary home, aud made a crop. This gave 
them an opportunity to become acquainted with the 
country and make a judicious location of a permanent 
home. During the year, they purchased land in the 
eastern part of Jefferson County. The whole country 
east of their location, as far as the State of Georgia, was 
an unbroken wilderness. The settlement of these 
Scotch-Irish Presbyterians on the border of an un- 
known wilderness of public land, just having been sur- 
veyed, and offered at government price, with the right . 
of pre-emption to actual settlers, at once attracted nu- 
merous other settlers of the same race and religion. In 
a few years, over one hundred Highland-Scotch Presby- 
terian families settled in their vicinity. Most of them 
spoke the Gaelic language, had been taught the Shorter 



IN THE SOUTHWEST. 247 

Catechism, and forms of worship and usages of the 
Presbyterian Church, and were persons of elevated and 
devout piety. Among them were families by the names 
of G-ilcrist, Baker, Cameron, Mclntyre, McLauchlin, 
McLaurin, Buie, Cato, Brown, Smith, Patterson, Watson, 
Galbreath, Smylie, Trimble, McClutchie, Farley, Curie, 
Wilkinson, McCormick, McMillan, McClean, Henderson, 
McCallum. The Southern climate has proved as favor- 
able to the longevity of this hardy race of people as the 
colder climate of their native hills. And, within a few 
years ago, the venerable hoary heads which thronged 
their Sabbath services, and whose songs of praise filled 
the stranger with reverence and awe, formed a most im- 
pressive spectacle. The fear of the Lord, in which they 
and their children had been reared, proved, even for this 
world, the beginning of wisdom. In due time, it brought 
down upon them temporal as well as spiritual blessings, 
and many of their descendants have risen to fortune 
and political distinction. 



DEATH 

OF THE 

REV. JAMBS PURVIANCE, D. D. 



The Synod and Presbytery of Mississippi have lost 
another of that now sparse class of members who may 
be called the patriarchs of these bodies. 

Dr. James Purviance died at his residence in Natchez, 
just before the hour of twelve, on the night of Wednes- 
day, the 14th inst., 1874. For the last ten years, a chronic 
affection of the throat and the general exhaustions conse- 
quent upon a series of fevers, with which he was attacked 
in 1860, have rendered him an invalid. He has lived 
encamped upon the borders of the heavenly country, 
and, beyond an occasional effort to assist his daughters 
in the instruction of a female school, has had little to 
do with the affairs of the world. His decline was very 
gradual. He foresaw the fatal event — set his house in 
perfect order — committed himself without a misgiving 
into the hands of his Saviour — and, in the tranquillity 
of a painless sleep, passed away to his heavenly rest. 
His brethren could have asked for him no happier end- 
ing of life. 

He was a native of Baltimore, and a member of an 
old and respectable family, still represented in that city 
by his brother, Commodore H. Y. Purviance. 

His first purpose was to adopt the military profession, 
and, in pursuance of this, he entered the national school 
at West Point, where he was a class-mate of the gener- 
als E. E. Lee and Jos. E. Johnston. Abandoning this 



DEATH OF THE EEY. JAMES PURVIANCE, D.D. 249 

purpose, lie returned to Baltimore, and entered upon 
the study of law, and, after a regular course of study, 
was admitted to the bar. Soon after this event, how- 
ever, under the ministry of the late Dr. Nevins, he un- 
derwent that thorough change in his religious convictions 
which resulted in his profession of his faith as a Christian, 
and his adoption of the ministerial office as his call- 
ing. He received his theological training at Princeton. 
His first field of labor was Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 
which was then the centre of a wealthy and impor- 
tant district, largely infected with infidelity and inter- 
fused with a Roman Catholic population — and which, 
perhaps, on this account, was selected by the Mission- 
ary Board of the Church as a scene calling for the ser- 
vices of such gifted minds as those of Dorrance, Hutch- 
ison, and Purviance. 

The reputation for comity as a gentleman, and fidelity 
and ability as a pastor, which the youthful evangelist ac- 
quired during his residence at Baton Rouge, led the con- 
gregation of the Carmel Church, Adams County, Missis- 
sippi, upon the withdrawal of Dr. Chase from that charge, 
in 1840, to extend to him a call to become their pastor. He 
continued at this post till 1854, when he was elected Pres- 
ident of Oakland College. The Board of Directors, in 
making this choice, had not been mistaken in suppos- 
ing that certain -well-defined traits in the character of 
Dr. Purviance marked him out as a man eminently 
adapted to exercise an ascendency over the minds of a 
community of youth, and to secure to the institution 
under his care the benefits of good order and high-toned 
manners. The result fully justified their expectations, 
and the six years of his incumbency constitute one of 
the palmiest periods in the history of the college. 

From this position he was constrained, from the pros- 
tration of his health, to retire in 1860, and from that 
11* 



250 DEATH OF THE KEV. JAMES PURVIANCE, D.D. 

time his life has been little else than a protracted strug- 
gle with disease. The ardor of his nature and the im- 
petuosity of his will, which many who knew him only 
in his earlier life will recall, were beautifully tempered 
by Divine grace through the instrumentality of affliction, 
and before his departure he had become literally like a 
shock of corn ripened for the garner. 

It is the inevitable misfortune, perhaps, of persons 
with as positive points of character as those which Dr. 
Purviance possessed, to come in collision sometimes 
with the opinions of their brethren ; but there is no one, 
probably, who knew him well who will not certify that 
if ever there was a heart devoted to the love and main- 
tenance of truth, it was his ; and if ever there was a 
man since Paul's day who has verified Paul's ideal of 
the Christian — in the loyal soldier, the honest steward, 
and the single-eyed racer, and over whose grave the in- 
scription could be written — "I have fought a good fight, 
I have kept the faith, I have finished my course " — it 
was he. J. B. S. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE 



APPOINTED BY 



THE PRESBYTERY OP MISSISSIPPI 

TO PREPARE AN OBITUARY OP THE REY. B. CHASE, D. D. 



The committee appointed to prepare an obituary 
of the Eev. Benjamin Chase, D. D., would report that, 
in compliance with the duty imposed upon them, they 
have compiled the following sketch of the life of this 
eminent and beloved father in the church, mainly from 
materials which his own hand has preserved in a manu- 
script autobiography. 

Dr. Chase was born in the Township of Litchfield, 
New Hampshire, on the 20th of November, 1789. His 
ancestors came from England as early as A. D. 1635. 
There , is satisfactory evidence that about that year, 
Thomas, William, and Aquila Chase — immediate de- 
scendants of Sir Robert Chase, of Cornwall— emigrated 
to this country, and settled, two of them, Thomas and 
Aquila, at Hampton, New Hampshire, and the third, 
William, at Yarmouth, Massachusetts. The father of 
Dr. Chase was Simeon Chase, the great-great-grandson 
of this Aquila Chase. His mother was Mary Bartlett, 
of Newtown, New Hampshire, which was also the birth- 
place of his father. f this marriage seven children were 
the issue — four sons and three daughters. Benjamin was 
the second child, and the oldest son. His father and two 
brothers settled at Litchfield prior to the Revolution of 
1776. They lived contiguous to each other, each possess- 



252 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE 

ing a good farm, and owning jointly a saw-mill and a grist- 
mill. The rudiments of his education were acquired at 
the district school. His progress in knowledge was in- 
terrupted by frequent infirmities of defective constitu- 
tion, and, under the impression that he was not adapted 
to a student's life, he spent several of his early years in 
assisting his father on his farm and in his mills ; and, 
for a considerable period, was occupied as an apprentice 
to a house-carpenter. In his nineteenth year, haying 
formed the purpose to acquire a classical education, he en- 
tered the academy at Salisbury, New Hampshire; and in 
August, 1811,was admitted to the sophomore class in Mid- 
dlebury College, Vermont. His room-mate at this institu- 
tion was Reuben Post, afterwards Rev. Dr. Post, of Charles- 
ton, South Carolina ; and Sylvester Larned, afterwards 
the first pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of 
New Orleans, was a member of the class in advance 
of him. All three of these young men became subjects 
of a religious awakening, which occurred while in col- 
lege, and Mr. Chase was received into the Rev. Dr. 
Melvill's church,' at Middlebury. The change in Mr. 
Chase was the result of convictions which dated back 
to an early period of his life. His mother was an emi- 
nently pious woman, who, although her death occurred 
when he was in his thirteenth year, had made impressions 
upon his mind by her instructions, which were never 
obliterated. His father was not a member of any church, 
but was a man of exemplary life, who maintained wor- 
ship in his family, and was careful in the religious 
training of his children. Mr. Chase was graduated at 
college in August, 1814. His purpose, at that time, was 
to devote himself to teaching, as a profession. With this 
view, he accepted, for a brief period, a position as head 
of an academy in New Jersey, and subsequently was 
transferred to a similar position in Philadelphia, which 



APPOINTED BY THE PBESBYTEBY OF MISSISSIPPI. 253 

he continued to occupy until the fall of 1817. On the 
17th of December of that year he arrived in New Or- 
leans, having made the passage thither by sea, in the 
hope of repairing the health of his wife. In this hope 
he was disappointed. The sufferer lingered till the fol- 
lowing spring, and then died. During the winter thus 
spent in New ' Orleans, Mr. Chase was associated with 
Eev. Elias Cornelius, Eev. Sylvester Larned, and Eev. 
Jeremiah Chamberlain, in efforts to establish institu- 
tions of Protestant worship, and to promote, in various 
ways, the work of Christian benevolence. 

After the death of his wife, he yielded to the convic- 
tion that his proper calling was the Gospel ministry, 
and commenced a course of theological study, under the 
direction of his friend, Mr. Larned, at the same time 
making a support for himself by teaching a school, 
first at New Orleans, and subsequently at St. Francisville, 
Louisiana. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery 
of Mississippi on the 19th of November, 1820. From 
that time till the summer of 1823 he was, in connection 
with the charge of his school, engaged laboriously in the 
work of an evangelist, supplying the destitution of 
Louisiana, as far as he could reach them, at great sacri- 
fice to his own ease, and without a dollar of pecuniary 
compensation. 

Repeated attacks of sickness at length constrained 
him to seek a change of climate, and, in 1823, he left 
the South, with the expectation, of never returning to it, 
being, in his own words, " only the wreck of a man, 
with sight impaired, teeth loose, and jaws stiffened 
(from salivation), and a cripple, walking with a crutch 
and staff." 

During his sojourn in New England, and under, the 
impression that his stay there was to be permanent, he 
requested ordination from a Congregational body — the 



254 REPOKT OF THE COMMITTEE 

"Association of the "Western District of New Haven 
Comity, Connecticut/' — and was by them ordained on 
the 17th of August, 1824. 

In taking this step, he followed the counsel of the 
Key. Gardiner Spring, D. D., of New York, who was 
present, and preached the sermon on the occasion of his 
ordination. 

In the fall of that year, having been solicited to re- 
turn to his old field of labor, he accepted a commission 
from the General Assembly's Board of Missions, and 
arrived in Natchez in the latter part of December. 

On Christmas-day he preached at the Carmel Church, 
Second Creek, where a house of worship had been 
erected, and a church, consisting of fifteen or sixteen 
members, had been organized the year before. 

Establishing himself at Pinkneyville, he spent the 
winter in preaching at a number of points in Louisi- 
ana and Mississippi which could be reached from the 
centre. At the spring meeting of Mississippi Presby- 
tery, in 1825, he was received as a member of that body, 
the vote, however, being accompanied with a minute, 
expressive of the disapprobation of the Presbytery of the 
mode in which his ordination had been obtained, and 
requiring him formally to adopt the Confession of Faith 
and Porm of Government of the Presbyterian Church. 

In the year 1828, he was married to Mrs. Anna W. 
Smith, daughter of the late John Henderson, of Natchez, 
a lady eminently gifted with intelligence and piety, 
with whom he maintained the happiest relations, till 
her sudden death, in 1845, deprived him of her precious 
companionship. 

Mrs. Smith was the owner of a residence and planta- 
tion in the Second Creek neighborhood, ten miles south 
of Natchez, known as Mantua ; and Providence, in lead- 
ing Mr. Chase into this matrimonial connection, fur- 



APPOINTED BY THE PEESBYTERY OF MISSISSIPPI. 255 

nished him, for the first time in his life, with the bless- 
ing of a home. In becoming a resident at " Mantua," 
however, he took care to have it understood, as one of 
the preliminaries of his marriage, that he was not, in 
his own language, to marry the plantation, in such a 
sense that the minister of the Gospel should ever be- 
come absorbed in the planter. Charge of the property- 
was intrusted to a brother-in-law, who continued to 
manage it, until, after the lapse of many years, ill 
health forced Mr. Chase to resign the active work of the 
ministry. 

In July, 1828, he accepted an engagement to supply the 
Carmel Church, in the neighborhood of his residence. 
Three congregations were included in this church, that 
of " Carmel," that of the " Old Court-house," and that 
of " Cold Springs." To these were added the church at 
Pine Kidge, and several intermediate congregations, 
between which and the Carmel Church Mr. Chase 
divided his time. It was his custom, in filling his 
appointments, to ride forty miles and preach three times 
on a Sabbath. 

In 1830, he enlisted zealously in the work of supply- 
ing destitute regions of the Southwest with the Holy 
Scriptures. As an agent of the Mississippi Bible Soci- 
ety, he traversed one-half of Adams County, furnishing 
personally a copy of the word of God to the families 
who were found without it. The interest awakened in 
his mind by the facts disclosed by this excursion led 
him to devote himself to the work of circulating the 
Scriptures on a larger scale ; and, for the next ten years, 
under commissions from the American Bible Associa- 
tion or the State societies of Louisiana and Mississippi, 
he was engaged in a series of labors, involving an im- 
mense exposure and toil, by means of which the whole 
territory of Mississippi, Louisiana, and such parts of 



256 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE 

Arkansas and Texas as were accessible, were visited 
and supplied with copies of the Bible. The difficulties 
and perils connected with this enterprise were enough 
to make it heroic, and the Providence of God, which 
carried Mr. Chase successfully through it, was as 
marked as was the zeal for God which prompted him * 
to undertake it. 

The effect of the heavy tax upon his physical re- 
sources, to which he had thus subjected himself, be- 
came apparent in the autumn of 1840, when he was 
attacked with a bronchial affection, which involved the 
loss of his voice, and, for a time, threatened to commu- 
nicate itself to the lungs. During the summer of 1841, 
he visited Europe, with material advantage to his gen- 
eral health, but with no relief to his organic infirmity. 
From this he never recovered. Although able to speak 
and pray sometimes at an ecclesiastical or social meeting, 
he was constrained to withdraw from the duties of the 
pulpit. 

His interest in the affairs of the church, however, suf- 
fered no abatement, and he continued with almost inva- 
riable regularity, to attend the meetings of Presbytery 
and Synod, and occasionally represented his Presbytery 
in the General Assembly. As a member of several suc- 
cessive committees, to whom this work was intrusted, 
he took a prominent part in the supervision of the Gen- 
eral Assembly's schemes of Domestic Missions and Edu- 
cation in the Southwest. 

A great part of his attention, during the latter years 
of his life, was given to the fostering of Oakland College. 

He had been the chairman of a committee which had 
been appointed by the Presbytery of Mississippi, to con- 
sider the subject of founding an institution of learning 
under the auspices of that body, and, at the meeting of 
Presbytery at Bethel Church, Claiborne County, in 



APPOINTED BY THE PRESBYTERY OF MISSISSIPPI. 257 

January, 1830, presented an able report, which closed 
with a resolution "that it is expedient to establish an 
institution of learning now within our bounds, which, 
when complete, shall embrace the usual branches of 
science and literature taught in the colleges of our coun- 
try, together with a preparatory English grammar- 
school, and a theological professorship seminary." 
This resolution was adopted ; and, a few months after- 
wards, was carried into effect by the opening of Oakland 
College, under the presidency of Rev. Jeremiah Cham- 
berlain, D. D., at its present site, in the neighborhood 
of Bethel Church. 

Dr. Chase was a liberal patron of the infant institu- 
tion, and continued to serve its interest, in the capacity 
of director or trustee, till near the end of his life. 
During the latter part of the year 1851, after the death 
of Dr. Chamberlain, he was its acting President until 
the inauguration of Rev. R. L. Stanton, D. D., as regu- 
lar President. 

A characteristic monument of his devotion to the in- 
stitution is to be found in the Chase cabinet — a collec- 
tion of specimens of mineralogy and natural history, 
which, in the indulgence of his own private taste, he had 
made, and which he had presented to the college. The 
value of this collection he estimated at 15,000. An- 
other expression of his interest in the cause of educa- 
tion appears in the fact that, in 1851, he gratuitously 
conveyed to the Trustees of Austin College, Texas, 
through the Rev. Daniel Baker, D.D., then President 
of that institution, a tract of land in Texas, of which 
he was possessed, of 5,000 acres. 

In the year 1846, in order to obtain better facilities 
for the education of his children, then consisting of two 
daughters and three sons, Dr. Chase moved from his 
home at Mantua to a residence at Natchez. 



258 EEPOET OF THE COMMITTEE 

Mantua had grown into a sylvan Paradise under his 
tasteful culture during eighteen years of his occupancy. 
The grounds were adorned with plants and trees, 
which he had brought from the regions he traversed 
during his missionary wanderings. His cabinets were 
stored with fossils, minerals, and relics of the aborigines 
of the country ; a valuable library enriched his shelves ; 
and, adjoining his dwelling, an extensive park had been 
enclosed, beautified with terraces and avenues, and 
stocked with a herd of deer. The charm of the place, 
however, was always the concord and benignity which 
reigned within doors, and the warm, Christian hospital- 
ity which was ever ready to afford shelter to the needy, 
and give a welcome to the friend. 

The paternal sympathies of Dr. Chase were unusu- 
ally strong. He had endured hardness himself, and 
could feel for those who, as was the case with most of 
the ministry in this comparatively frontier part of the 
country, were actually enduring it. His benefactions 
were constant, liberal. The distressed brother never 
failed to find solace in the amenities of his roof, and to 
carry away from his presence invigoration from his kind 
words and deeds. 

On one occasion he made a fatiguing and expensive 
journey into the interior of Louisiana, and ultimately 
into Texas, for the purpose of rescuing a minister of the 
Cumberland Presbyterian Church, for whom he enter- 
tained a warm regard, from the suspicion which had 
fallen upon his Christian character in consequence of 
certain defamatory reports. 

From the time of his removal to Natchez, troubles 
may be said to have begun to darken over his house. 
A severe shock to his constitution, caused by injuries 
received from the upsetting of the stage in which he was 
returning from the meeting of the Synod of Columbus, 



APPOINTED BY THE PKESBYTEKY OF MISSISSIPPI. 259 

in the fall of 1845. impaired his health, and was the 
precursor of other more alarming affections in the re- 
gion of the heart and brain. Soon after, a heavier ca- 
lamity befell him in the death of his excellent wife. 
Financial embarrassment at the same time added to his 
burden of care. His afflictions culminated during the 
war, which commenced in 1861. In 1863, under the 
pressure of necessity, and in hope of finding repose and 
safety, he sold his house in Natchez, and returned to 
Mantua, only, however, to find his former beautiful 
home in a state of dilapidation, and to suffer, in repeated 
instances, violence and pillage from the bands of ma- 
rauding soldiers who were scouring the country. In 
the same year he was called to lay in the grave a be- 
loved daughter, whose devotion and strength of charac- 
ter made her the stay of his old age. These dark days 
of penury and sorrow passed slowly away. The needs 
and perils which pursued him gave occasion for fresh 
interpositions of that Providential mercy which he de- 
lighted to acknowledge. The ravens of God again 
brought meat and drink to the prophet in his hiding- 
place by the exhausted brook, and when he was permit- 
ted to come forth again from his retreat, it was evident 
to all who looked upon the lustre of his white locks 
and the subdued sweetness of his venerable face, that 
his sojourn in the desert had been a period of near and 
special communion with God. 

His last appearance at an ecclesiastical assembly was 
at the meeting of the Presbytery, at Eodney, in the 
spring of 1870. On this occasion, and that of the 
meeting of Synod at New Orleans, the preceding fall, 
he felt that he was holding a valedictory with his breth- 
ren. The event corresponded with his expectation. 
Just on the eve of the reappearing of these respective 
bodies, he was removed to the Church of the first-born 



260 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE 

in heaven, sending with his dying breath an assurance 
of his continued love to his associates in the ministry 
and eldership, whose faces on earth he was to see no 
more. 

The disease which terminated his life was a species 
of pneumonia, producing a paralysis of the lungs, and 
attended by great suffering. His mind was, until near 
his decease, clear and composed. He talked freely, de- 
lighted to dwell upon the loving kindness and faithful- 
ness of God in all his dealings with him, and to bear 
testimony to the preciousness of those doctrines of grace 
in the faith of which he had lived, labored, and suf- 
ered. 

His death occurred on the 11th of October, 1870, at 
Mantua. The funeral service was held in the Presby- 
terian church at Natchez on the 13th, and his body 
rests in the family-lot in the Natchez cemetery. His 
age was one month and nine days short of eighty- 
one years. 

Dr. Chase's connection with the Presbyterian Church 
in the Southwest dates back almost to the origin of that 
church. He saw the rise of most of the organizations 
which now appear within its territory. He was personally 
acquainted with most of its pioneers and founders. His 
history brings him into association with Larned, Cham- 
berlain, Bullen, Smylie, Montgomery, Eickow, Potts, 
Butler, Hutchison, and Bertron. As the last of two of 
this band, he was permitted to stretch his patriarchal 
hand in blessing over the host of younger laborers, whom 
he had seen enter into their fields. In his death, the last 
link between the present and the past is severed. That 
Dr. Chase was a Christian is tested by the undeviating 
rectitude and the unblemished reputation which, 
through an unusually long period and through a re- 
markable succession of vicissitudes, attended his life. 



APPOINTED BY THE PRESBYTERY OF MISSISSIPPI. 261 

In youth and in old age, in affluence and in poverty, 
the principle that directed his course was the apostolic 
one, "To me to live is Christ." His preaching was 
made effective, not by any high order of intellect, but 
by the depth of his convictions and the intensity of his 
love for the souls of his fellow-men. 

His labors as a consoler of the afflicted were pecu- 
liarly appreciated, and these, with those of the peace- 
maker between the disaffected, and the helper of the 
friendless and destitute, run parallel with his life. 

From a world which had grown strange to him, and 
which, in its cruel shif tings, had left him in his going- 
out of it almost as naked as he was at his coming-into 
it, we cannot doubt he has passed into the rest of that 
heavenly home of which the Eden at Mantua, in its 
best and brightest days, was but an imperfect and 
treacherous type. 

In conclusion, your committee recommend the adop- 
tion of the following resolutions : 

1st, That this Presbytery, while bowed down with 
grief at the death of Dr. Chase, as a family bereft of a 
parent, acknowledge the signal goodness of God in 
sparing his valuable life so long, and in permitting him, 
under so varied and protracted an experience, to illus- 
trate the beauty of Christian piety, and to verify the 
reality and sufficiency of Divine grace. 

2d, That the eminent services of Dr. Chase, in plant- 
ing and sustaining the religious and educational insti- 
tutions of the Presbyterian Church in this portion of 
our land, entitle his name to a foremost place among 
those whom, as a church, we delight to honor, and 
ought to insure its grateful commemoration for gener- 
ations to come. 

3d, That the toils and sacrifices of that great cloud 
of witnesses, who formed the original, members of this 



262 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE 

Presbytery, to whom Dr. Chase has now been added, 
lay a solemn and definite obligation upon us, their suc- 
cessors, to foster the work they have begun, and to im- 
itate, in building up the City of Zion, the self-denial, 
the zeal, and the holy simplicity of purpose, which they 
exhibited in laying its foundation. 

4th, That our sympathies, as a Presbytery, be ten- 
dered to the family of our deceased friend and father, 
and that a copy of these resolutions be inclosed to them 
by the stated clerk. 

J. B. STEATTON, ) 
(Signed) GEO. HALL, } Committee. 

JOS. WEEKS, j 



